Why do you let me stay here?
by RoyalBlood18
Summary: It's 1778 , South Carolina . On the night of the Dragoons arrival to aunt Charlotte's house . Jessica Martin , Benjamin Martins daughter , Is captured by the ruthless Colonel Tavington , leader of the British Green Dragoons . What will happen ? Read to find out ! ** I am currently adding on to chapter 11 , chapter 11 will be reposted with changes soon ! Ch. 27 is being worked on!**
1. Hiding

The night was still and silent, Jessica slowly rustled in the sheets of her and her sister's bed, turning over on her side she looked out the window in-front of her staring out into the clear night sky. It had been months since she had last seen her father and her brother Gabriel. Gabriel had left earlier before her father, to join back with the Gates and the Continental Army .

Jessica could tell that Gabriel had sought out revenge over the death of their brother Thomas. She could still remember that dreadful day in her mind, she remembered The British Green Dragoons arriving to their house and Gabriel being accused of being a spy and being tied up and dragged away by British soldiers.  
And Thomas, she remembered Thomas beginning to sprint over to to were Gabriel was being held ordering Gabriel to run as he knocked a British soldier to the ground, but he didn't get to far. She could still hear her fathers voice shouting and pleading for the Colonel of the British Green Dragoons, who cocked his pistol and aimed it at Thomas to "wait", and the sound of a gun shot that rang out into that beautiful summer morning. The bullet had pierced through Thomas's back and out through his chest. Bleeding and falling to his knee's her father came from behind Thomas holding him in his arms as Thomas's face turned pale and his breathe was heavy and short.  
Jessica remembered looking into the eye's of the man who killed her brother, his bright blue harsh eye's pierced into her own, he slightly smirked at him "stupid boy" he sneered looking at the now dying Thomas laying still and quiet in her fathers arms. Then grabbing the reins of his horse, he turned and rode away leading the rest of Dragoons out of sight.

So much hatred burned inside of Jessica the same as it did that morning. Her tears started to pool at the rim of her eyes, she wiped a single tear off of her cheek with the pillow beside her. She suddenly stopped and looked over beside her to where her sister was now sitting up in their bed, her body faced the window.  
"Margaret, what's wrong?" Jessica whispered.  
"Listen , don't you hear it ? " her sister asked her  
Jessica propped herself onto her elbows and closely listened to the outside . she heard the whines and hooves of horses approaching the house , the sound made her smile to herself .

" Come Margaret " Jessica said tugging on the sleeve of her night gown " It must be father and Gabriel " she said excitedly still smiling .

" I don't think so , look " Margaret said pointing to the window . Jessica rose up off of her elbows looking out the window too see more than a dozen men on horses carrying torches . they were all coming towards the house and the men looked all too familiar to her .

Nathan scrambled back into the house from ware he was standing on the porch outside . He ran up the stairs and went directly into their aunt Charlotte's room .  
" Aunt Charlotte " he shook her " Aunt Charlotte , wake up someone's coming . Aunt Charlotte immidietly opened her eyes springing up out of the bed .  
" Get the boys " she said hurrying out of the room  
" Come on Susan " Jessica said picking up Susan out of their bed " Margaret you too , hurry " she said impatiently . She ran out of the room joining her Aunt and her other three brother's Samuel , William and Nathan . Jessica could hear the sound of the horses whines and hooves coming closer , and her heart racing faster , she was scared .  
" Come quickly and stay close " Charlotte ordered to all of them . leading them down the stairs . They all stopped to stare out of the windows now to see that all of the men were dismounting their horses and coming up the stairs and on to the front porch . " This way " Charlotte panicked escorting them all quickly into the dining room shutting the doors behind her .

Jessica placed Susan down and rushed over beside her aunt , they both peered through the window beside the dining room door ,both of their eye's widened when they saw the front double doors being pushed wide open revealing a few men with torches starting to enter inside the house . Jessica's heart rate increased , as she began to panic .  
She looked over to her brothers and sisters , as they stared back with the look of fear in their eye's wondering what they were going to do next . Then she noticed the door at the end of the room leading to kitchen downstairs .  
" Aunt Charlotte " her Aunt faced her , " why don't we hide downstairs in the kitchen , they surely wont find us down there . " Jessica whispered . Her aunt nodded then rushed over the door , as they all followed .  
"we'll go down stairs to the kitchen " Jessica said looking at her almost crying sister Susan , She sighed and knelt down to her youngest sister Susan .

" Susan I know you are scared right now but please trust me , everything is going to be fine " she paused " al-right ? " Jessica smiled cupping Susan cheeks in her hand as she kissed her forehead .  
She opened the door and leaned down to open the little door on the floor leading to the downstairs . Jessica could hear the footsteps of the men going through the house now .

one by one she helped her aunt Charlotte , William , Susan , Margaret Nathan and Samuel . go down and through the door . Jessica looked over to the dining-room door to ware a man was standing  
"come on Nathan get down there , fast "  
" what's going to happen to you " Nathan asked concerned  
" shh " she hissed " don't worry about me just get down there with the others and stay quiet "  
There wasn't any-time she could hear the handle of the door being twisted now . she shut the door to ware Nathan was , and ran sliding underneath the table .


	2. Captured

Everything was silent , except for the creaking of the door being opened , Jessica's breathing was definitely not silent , she placed her hand to her mouth and the other on her chest trying to steady her breathing and stay quiet . She could see and hear the man's boot's walking across the floor . he stopped in-front of her , she couldn't handle it .  
her breathing intensified with every passing second her thoughts were running through her head , and her heart felt like it was rising in her throat . She wished more than anything that her father and brother could just show up and make this all go away . The man then started walking again back to the dining room door ," There's no one in the house sir " she heard a man at the entrance of the dining room say .  
" they can't be far , check the out building's and the woods quickly . The man's tone of voice gave her tingles up her spin it was cold , harsh and the arrogance in his voice made her seem to recognise something scarcely familiar about him  
" yes sir " the man replied and left the room , leaving the man standing there cocking his pistol .

The sound of his pistol made Jessica swallow hard , she now knew , that he knew she was in the room . Jessica sat there not knowing what to do , she was to scared she couldn't think she didn't know what to think other than she knew she was going to die , it was too late .  
The man had lifted the sheet of the dining table up and saw Jessica reach over lifting the table cloth up and sliding out from underneath the table , scrambling to her feet . she gasped as she stood face to face on the other side of the table with one of the British green dragoons aiming his pistol right at her head .  
Her eye's met with his instantly , she knew those cold bright blue eyes that pierced into her deep blue eyes before . It was that man who killed Thomas .  
She was enraged her body intensified with anger , But she was also filled with fear , but she certainly didn't want the Man to know she was terrified . Jessica lifted her head straightened her back . And then she spoke confidently .

" I would appreciate it if you would lower your pistol , sir " she sneered at him  
and surprisingly he did as she asked .

" Are you , or are you not the daughter of Benjamin Martin ? " He sneered back to her .But she didn't answer , she just stood there and looked at him blankly .  
" Answer me , are you or are you not ! " he shouted raising his pistol towards Jessica again , causing her to jump .

" Y-yes i-i am his daughter " the gun made her tremble she studded trying to keep herself together .

He nodded and then walked around the table over to Jessica , she back away from him quickly before he grabbed her arm forcefully pulling him with her out of the room .

" get your hand off of me ! " she shouted as he tightened his grip harder around her arm .

" Borden " he said walking up to one of the other men , " were taking this one with us back to the estate , she is one of Benjamin's children "  
Borden eye'd her up and down and then nodded " yes sir "

he proceeded to walk with Jessica still in his grasps ,

" get off of me ! " she shouted once more and tried to fight against him .  
Instead of ignoring her any further , he pulled her over in-front of him and threw her over his shoulder . she felt his one arm wrap around her waist , his grip was strong and she could feel his arm muscles tighten around her .

she kicked and screamed wildly " put me down " she yelled . she struggled to free herself from him , he was too strong for her .  
When he reached over to his horse he took Jessica by the waist and propped her up on the horse . Then he himself proceeded to climb on top of his horse behind her .

" Let me go " she yelled , " You killed my brother Thomas "

she hated to be even near him she wanted to jump off the horse and run back into the house joining her family , and then she wondered ware they were , and if they even made it out of the house alive .

" why are you doing this , why are you taking me back to your estate ? " she asked

"because " he replied " you are the daughter of Benjamin Martin and you are going to give up any information regarding your father "

Her eye's widened

" No , let me go " she yelled elbowing him in the stomach . His stomach muscles tightened as he let out a silent grunt and then started chuckling .

" feisty aren't we "she tried sliding off the horse

" Oh no you don't " he grabbed on to her pulling her closer to him . she arched her back avoiding him .

" torch the house " He yelled out back to the men , they responded by throwing the torches toward the house instantly setting the house up in flames .

" No, you filthy brute " Jessica screamed . She still wasn't sure if her family was still in the house or not . The man ignored her and took the reins of his horse .  
He spurred his horse into a full gallop and carried his captive and himself back to the British estate . As the rest of the Dragoons followed behind their leader .


	3. The Butcher

When they arrived , the estate was surrounded by a high wooden wall . She now knew her escape was not going to be easy , it seemed now that it may even be impossible .

As they rode up to the large wooden gates two men were on the other side  
" Gates " a man shouted as both of the doors opened wide . Jessica's captor , ordered the rest of his men to go back to their camp .

Once they cleared out , The man headed over to the stables . he then dismounted his horse taking Jessica off as-well . " If you are thinking of running don't , you wont get to far " he said stroking the barrel of his pistol the sight of his pistol sickened her .  
" And it is not in my intention to kill you , as you know i need information , your information . " "  
" what makes you think i will give up any information , regarding my father and brothers saftey , Jessica sneered . The man sighed

" Tell me would you rather let me ride you back to our camp , and leave you in the hands of my men , they would rather enjoy your company . You see they have not had the plesure of a womens touch in a long while " he smirked

Jessica looked back at him in disgust with a hint of fear in her eye's " No sir , i do not wish to be left in the company of your men "

" I didn't think so " he looked examining her up and down . He had to admit she was considerably pretty , her long straight caramel brown coloured hair was slung over her one shoulder . The colour of her skin was porcelain and her deep blue marbled eyes were complimented by her long brown lashes .

Jessica stood in silence watching him looking at her from head to toe , she felt uncomfortable and could feel her pink cheeks redden .

"come with me " he said taking her small hand into his . He practically dragged her into the mansion , he pulled her up throught two flights of stairs . She was then pushed into a room that was poorly furnished. All that was in the room was a cot with a single blanket. And a window on the far wall .

He walked in the room closing the door behind him and Jessica . " i wonder , what is your first name , miss Martin ? " he asked " well you as my captor have fail to tell me your's " she snapped .  
" I am colonel William Tavington " Colonel William tavington she thought Gabriel use to write to her when he left for war two years ago .

He would tell her stories about the British Green Dragoons , and one inpraticular named Colonel William Tavington was known for his brutal tactics , He would ride into battle with his sword drawn cutting anyone in his path . He was given the nickname amoung the populis as ' The Butcher '  
" so your the one they call the butcher " she smirked , Tavington stood and stared at her . " Yes as some would like to , call me . But you will refer to me as Colonel Tavington or just Colonel " he said in a harsh tone " now will you care to tell me your name " he asked impatiently .  
"I dont see how its any of your concern Colonel " she smirked again, "Oh, it is my concern. Now tell me your name." he barked at her  
She sighed and just stared at him.

" my name is Jessica " She replied , " would you mind telling me your age as-well "  
" I'm 18 years of age , sir " she answered .  
He nodded and continued to stare at her. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you mind, Colonel Tavington " she asked . He just ignored her comment " I will be back in the morning to discuss about how you will earn and ensure your protection , for now get some rest you have work to do tomorrow " and with that he turned and left the room

Jessica sat alone , what made that man think she was going to do any work under his command , he killed her brother , burned her own house , her Aunts now aswell and captured her . But she knew she would'nt be here long , she would try to escape somehow She smiled to herself and layed on the cot , closeing her eyes and drifted into sleep


	4. Do not test me

AN: Welp , here is the next chapter , I hope you enjoy . and PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW : )

Jessica was awake before the sun had rised , she only fell asleep for a few hours .  
how could she when she was thinking about her brothers , sisters and aunt .  
she prayed that they made it out of the house alive and well .  
Jessica heard a hard knock at the door , she knew it must be Tavington .

" come in " she shouted .

Tavington walked into the room he already had on his red and green officer uniform. He held his riding helmet and gloves under his arm. His hair was also slicked back and queued he carried a tray with an apple , some bread and a glass of cool water .

" I figured you must be hungry " Tavington said placing the tray on a small table sitting beside her cot .

" I'm starving " she said taking the apple of the tray , taking a large bite out of it . Then placing it back on the tray she picked up the bread .

The bread was somewhat stale sticking to the back of her throat she took a sip of the water , washing it all down .  
Tavington just stared at her as she ate her meal . Clearing his throat Jessica looked up toward him waiting for him to speak .

" Yes Colonel ? " she asked waiting for his replie " Yes , well firstly as you know Miss Martin, I mentioned last night that i would be explaining to you of how you will ensure and earn your protection . During your stay .

" what do you exactly mean by " she paused " Protection ? " she questioned , even though she had already a good idea of what he meant by "protection "

" My men , as you know , as i already have told you before they have not been in the presence of a women in a long time "  
" you wouldn't " Jessica said staring at him , with fear lurking in her eye's . Tavington liked seeing the fear in her eye's , he knew if he were to threatened her enough she would be too scared not to give him what he needed out of her .  
" If it's neccesary " He smirked back at her . Jessica hated when he did , his smirked screamed arrogance .

" bastard " she said under her breath but still loud enough for Tavington to hear her .

" Secondly " he snapped " you will watch your tongue while you are speaking to me or any other  
officers , you will do well to show respect ".

Jessica ignored him taking a sip of water them placing it back on the tray

" is that clear , Miss Martin " he said harshly

" Yes , sir " she said rolling her eye's . " Good , Now I also happened to mention that you will be starting work today , you will be working as a nurse in our camps tending to our wounded ."

" And what makes you think you can ask for my services , colonel " she snapped at him now standing up face to face.

" You killed my brother Thomas and now want my information so you can go kill my brother and father , burned my house . And not only mine but my Aunts , I dont even know if the rest of my family even made it out alive last night . Your a vile and cruel man William Tavington "she said , almost looking as if she was challenging his pistol.

Tavington narrowed his gaze on her , she knew from the way he was stareing at her that she was testing his patients now " Do not test me " he growled . his large hand wrapped around her porcelain neck, and his whole body was pressing against hers, keeping her pushed tight against the wall. Jessica's breathing became ragged, and it was now that she looked frightened .

" colonel Tavington un-hand me " she breathed heavily

" I will if you behave and agree to follow any of my instructions and orders i give to you " Tavington sneered slightly releasing his grip on her neck .

She nodded " Y-yes Colonel "

" Good , Now get ready i will be returning to take you back to our camp shortly to get started " he said taking his hand off of her neck and turning to walk out of the room .

" I dont have anything to wear " she said rolling her eye's . Tavington turned back to look at her atire , she was only wearing a thin white nightgown and a long robe . " Very well i'll get you something new to wear , " and with that he turned again to walk out of the room closing the door behind him .


	5. The price of war

Meanwhile..  
Aunt Charlotte , Gabriel , and the other's arrived safely on Gullah island reuniting with there old friend and maid , Abigail

" It's the children " Abigail said as she opened her arms

" Abigail " William shouted running as the rest of them followed behind . Abigail smiled widely as she warmly embraced them

|" we thought you had died Abigail , Thank goodness your alive " William laughed

" Of course i'm alive , I couldn't leave you lovely children just yet could I ? " she said still smiling

Abigail's smile faded when she realized the expression on Gabriel's face , it was plane and emotionless .  
" Gabriel "

Abigail said gently pushing aside the children still holding her , she noticed Jessica wasn't there .

" W-were's Jessica , what happened to her ? " Abigail asked

" She's gone "

"what do you mean she's gone " Abigail asked in concern . Aunt Charlotte slightly frowned . .

" They took her , The British green Dragoons " he paused " They must have taken her back to there camps and estate , they want information no doubt " Gabriel sighed

" Well Jessica is a strong girl , If its information they want out of her , she wont give it to them . She's a true patriot " Abigail said proudly

" Not if she waned to live , If she does not tell them what they want to here , im afraid they wont show any mercy towards her " Gabriel said .

Abigail just looked at Charlotte and Gabriel in shock and the sadness filled her eye's .

" Gabriel , you should go " Charlotte said looking back up at Gabriel . " You must tell your father what's happened to her

" Gabriel nodded " your right " he said looking back towards his sisters , brothers and Abigail giving them all a slight nod . He turned away , and walked back over to his horse mounting it . Then took of from Gullah Island .  
_

Tavington arrived back to Jessica's room shortly after he left , he walked into the room carrying a blue dress and apron .

" Here is your new dress to change into " He said , handing the dress over too her .

" Thank you " she said quietly to him . Jessica stood looking at him , as he stared at her again . he seemed to do that a-lot , she thought to herself .

He was starring at her neck ware he had grabbed her earlier , there were red marks of ware his fingers were around her neck that was still visible . " Mrs Martin " he looked at her with a raised eyebrow .

" Are you al-right ? " He asked , the harshness disapeard from his voice .

Jessica looked back at him slightly tilting her head to the side , she was confused and taken aback from his tone of voice and concern .

" Excuse me ? " she said , still confused , " Your neck " he paused diverting his gaze back to her neck .

She lifted her hand running her fingers back and fourth across her throat .

" I had no intention of hurting you " he said stepping forward , he stopped when he saw her flinch back a bit .

" I'm fine colonel " she said back .

They stared at each other for a moment each of them locking their eyes on the other ,She couldn't be sure, but for a split second she thought she saw the ice in his eyes melt away and replaced by someone who cared. But just as quickly as it came it was gone. She watched as the harshness crept back in the colonels eye's .

" We'll i will leave you too get dressed and ready " He said stepping toward the table ware the tray was ,he picked it up then once again left the room closing the door behind him

.Jessica looked down at the garments that still lay in her arms . she placed them on the table beside her as she started to remove her robe and night gown placing them down on the cot behind her . She picked up the dress examining it , the bottom of the dress was slightly stained it had obviously been used but none the less it was a nice looking dress to her surprise . Jessica then slipped the dress over her head and on to her body adjusting the skirt .

She reached over to the table and grabbed the apron tieing the long strings around her waste tightly . She looked down at the apron as she smoothed the wrinkles out . Jessica ran her fingers through her hair untangling any knots she then tied her brown hair into a low bun , when she was finished she proceeded over to the door and opened it to see Tavington waiting for her When he heard the door open he turned to her. He couldn't help but think she looked quite pretty .

He soon realized he was staring and quickly looked away. He cleared his throat .

" follow me "taking her hand in his he escorting her through the mansion , Jessica looked around as they headed back down the stairs , thankfully not being dragged this time . She looked around inspecting the place . It was a grand house , well furnished, beautiful and not to mention huge .

they reached the bottom of the stairs and walked through the foyer leading towards the entrance . Until they were interrupted by a voice " So this is our young captive Colonel Tavington ? " He said stopping in-front of them . " Yes , Benjamin Martins daughter " Tavington replied boringly .

" Ah, yes the ghost " The man chuckled a bit , Jessica looked back at him unamused . He cleared his voice " But were are my manner's , I am general O' Hara " He said smiling at her . Jessica only nodded ,

" Yes well " O' Hara continued " i hear you going to serve us as our wounded's nurse ? , we are always in need of new one from time to time " He finished . " yes sir " was her only replie .

Tavington then stepped in " please , excuse us General ".

General O' Hara nodded and watched them walk out the door stepping outside " Uhm , Colonel Tavington " O'Hara shouted out to him . Both Tavington and Jessica turned back to look at him . " Lord Cornwallis would like to speak to later this evening " he smirked

" Yes General , of course " He said nodding once more , Then proceeded to leave.

Colonel Tavington lead Jessica to the stables , on their way Jessica could not help but wonder what Lord Cornwallis wanted to speak with Colonel Tavington about .

" What do you think he wants to speak with you about " she asked , scared of how he would react to her question .

" Who ? , Cornwallis " Tavington said calmly  
She nodded back to him  
" Who else "

" Well " he paused " judging by that stupid smirk O' Hara was wearing on his face , it probably means im going to get another lecture on my certain tactics . " Brutal " i think Cornwallis would call it . I swear that O' Hara gets of on it when i get them too . I can hardly stand that man ". He said walking towards his horse rolling his eyes .

" Well could we really blame Cornwallis for lecturing you on your brutality ? " She questioned him

" If my tactics are going to be the reason for our victory's , than Cornwallis doesn't know what he is talking about . That's just the price of war " He Replied turning around adjusting and tightening the saddle of the horse .

" That's just the price of war " She repeated him , shaking her head chuckling  
" If that's what it takes for our American patriots to win this war , It would be shameful . They fight as gentlemen in command , so don't tell me that's just the price of war " She snapped .

Colonel Tavington stopped what he was doing to turn back around standing face to face to Jessica . He had to admit , she had gut's .

" What do you know about war " He spat .

" I know the difference between fighting for your country and murder , My brother was only an innocent child , he was no danger to anyone . And you shot him " She said as tears began to form in her eye's .

Colonel Tavington's thoughts went back to the day he shot her brother , he was only doing what was necessary . Thomas was in the way of thing's and he should have known his place . That way he wouldn't have end up ware he was now , dead .

" I was only doing what i thou-"

His sentence was cut off by Jessica slapping him hard across the face . His eye's widened in shock as he rubbed his red cheek . He was trying to comprehend what had just happened .

" you were only doing what ,Colonel ? what you thought was the right thing to do " she said as tears streamed down her face now . She stood looking at him , anger etched its way across his handsome facial features .  
" Get on the horse " he said quietly . Jessica backed away from him slightly still starring at him .

" Get on the bloody horse ! " he yelled stepping towards her , grabbing her arm painfully with his fingers tightly pressed into her arm . He practically threw her towards the horse , Jessica tried wrenching her arm out of his grip but she was to weak for him with fear as he narrowed his gaze on her with his piercing eyes .

" Let go of me , your hurting me ! " Jessica yelled at him begging him to let her go , he did as she asked letting her arm out of his grip before bruises would start to form on her arm . Jessica quickly mounted the horse , Tavington himself climbed up to sit behind her . Jessica could feel his chest against her back he slid his arm around her waist grabbing her tightly causing her to let out a small gasp .

She didn't bother struggling against him since she was in no mood to and she knew if she did he would only pull her back . Tavington took the reins of his horse leading them out of the stables , away from the mansion heading to Jessica's new job .


	6. New job

The ride was not to long , since the camp was only a few minuets away from the estate . But neither Jessica or Tavington spoke to one another . Until they arrived " we'll stop here " Tavington said coming to a halt . Jessica quickly dismounted the horse before Tavington , she was thankful to get off the horse and away from him . He then dismounted the horse after her .

" Right then , you will be working in that tent over there " he said nodding towards the far tent behind her .

" Very well " she said .

They started to walk toward the tent , Jessica following behind him . She looked around to see some other men the way they stared at her made her feel like they were undressing her with they eye's , She knew that if they had the chance they would try to take advantage of her .

Tavington turned his head to look at Jessica he watched as men stood giving her longing looks , . He could tell Jessica was uncomfortable .She quickly rushed up beside Tavington to feel some sense of protection " I told you they would be eager " He smirked leaning down whispering into Jessica's ear.

Tavington lifted a flap he removed his hat placing it under is arm as they both stepped inside the tent . It was a larger tent with six cots and a stand sitting beside a cot with some medical supplies the stand held several pitures of water, bowls, gauze, and everything else she could possibly need.

" you probably wont see much today , the only gruesome thing you'll encounter will be only be a bullet wound , any amputations will be taken care by our surgeons . " Tavington ensured her

Jessica stepped forward looking around the room once more .

" Miss Martin " She heard Colonel Tavington say . She turned to face him .

" Yes , Colonel " she asked . waiting for him to say something " Well i just wanted to say - well " he stopped

" I'll be leaving you now " He said placing his hat back on his head pulling down the chin strap .

" I will visit you back here when i return later this evening , And don't bother running away there will be some officers standing guard outside of the tent " With that said he gave a slight bow leaving her standing alone .

Jessica thought to herself as she walked over to one of the cots plopping down on one of them , crossing her arms into her lap . She knew that what Tavington said wasn't true . not that him leaving was not the truth but she knew there was something else he wanted to say to her , something sincere or kind perhaps .

Jessica shook her head , she knew Tavington would not say such thing's of kindness after the dispute they had in the stables and bedroom . But in the back of her mind she still wondered .

She sighed heavily as she looked around the room a bit . She knew that this was going to be a long boring day of doing absolutely nothing . A few hours later Jessica only tended to a few men that were injured . Well injured , but they were only minor . Men came in complaining about sore limbs , strained muscles or if it got ' intreasting ' she bandaged up a deep cut or two .

Nonetheless she had something to do , instead of doing nothing . Jessica took a break to step outside of the tent , she was surprised to see that the day was almost ending , the sun was setting . Evening was approaching soon and she knew Tavington must be too , Jessica walked back over to one of the cots . She was tired from the night before she barley got any sleep , she was thinking to much about her family .

She laid down on the cot closing her eye's dozing off to sleep .

Tavington decided to head back to the British estate and camp with the rest of the Green Dragoons . When they arrived later in the evening Tavington decided instead of going straight to the stables he was going to check up on Jessica first , he wondered how she did on her first day at work .

The Colonel stopped his horse a little ways away from the tent Jessica was in . He go off his horse walking towards the tent . He opened the flap entering inside to see Jessica sound asleep on the cot from across the tent .

He sighed smirking to himself , Tavington walked over in-font of the cot were she laid

" Sleeping on the job already " He said loudly enough to wake her up .  
Jessica opened her eye's startled to see a pair of ice blue eye's staring right at her .

" C-Colonel Tavington , I'm sorry i was just so tired from the night before , i only meant to rest my eye's for a little . But i just couldn't stay awake .

" She said quickly standing up in-front of him .

" No need for an explanation and your apology Mrs Martin , its quite al-right . I expect it wasn't much of a busy day for you anyway " He said .

" No , not really . A few cuts and strained muscles that's all ." She replied back rubbing her eye's trying to wake herself up .

" No amputations then , that's good " He said to himself ." Amputations , I thought you said if there were any amputations that they would be dealt with by your surgeons ? " She asked her eye's widened a little .

" I didn't want scare you " He said , his face serious , She crinkled her nose a little at the thought of her cutting off a man's limb .

Tavington chuckled a little " I'm only teasing you , you're not going to do any amputations "  
Jessica felt relived .

" I just love your sense of humour Colonel Tavington " She said sarcastically .

" You'll get use to it " he said smiling at her a little . He actually smiled ,? She thought she stood staring at him looking into his eye's .

There was a tension between them she had never felt before , but she quickly dismissed it

"Well" he said , breaking the odd tension

"Lord Cornwallis is expecting me very shortly . Your job is done for the day "

She nodded as he began to walk towards the exit of the tent .

When they arrived back to the mansion Tavington rode back to the stables , each of them dismounting the horse , they proceeded to walk toward the front doors of the mansion entering inside they both stopped to see a familiar face .

" General O'Hara " Tavington said

" Colonel Tavington " he paused " General Lord Cornwallis would like to speak with you now , I will lead you both to his office " O'Hara finished .

"very well , General " Tavington replied . O'Hara started walking as both Tavington and Jessica followed behind , he lead them to a large room which was obviously Cornwallis's office .

Judging by the large desk and table sitting in the room , with all sorts of maps and papers covering them . And not to mention Lord Cornwallis himself sitting in his desk . He didn't even noticed them standing there .

he was to preoccupied with finishing up his meal that laid out across his desk . Until O'Hara spoke " Lord Cornwallis , Colonel Tavington is here to speak with you as you ordered this morning my Lord "

Cornwallis stopped eating to look up at Jessica and Tavington standing in-front of the door way , he took his napkin out of the collar of his nightgown placing it on the table among the trays of food . he then motioned Tavington over to him .

" Wait outside here , I'll be out shortly to escort you back to your chambers " Tavington said facing Jessica . She nodded to him as he steeped into Cornwallis's office , he glanced at Jessica one more time before he closed the double door behind him .

Tavington walked up to his desk then stopped waiting for him to speak . Cornwallis looked behind him nodding to the man behind him to leave the room . The man did so and left .

Jessica stepped back from the doors as the man from Cornwallis's office pulled open the doors to see Jessica standing there " Please excuse me miss " he said quietly as she stepped aside letting him pass her . She then started to walk around a little looking around the room until she stopped to lean against the wall , waiting for Tavington to return .

She thought to herself until she heard something coming from Cornwallis's office , she walked up to the doors carefully listening to what was going on , She could hear Cornwallis start to shout at Tavington

"these brutal task's must stop " Cornwallis said sternly sitting down into the chair of his desk

" Is it not enough my lord that i have never lost a battle " Tavington asked angrily taking a few steps towards Cornwallis's desk .

" You serve me and the matter in which you serve me , reflects upon me ! " she heard him Shout back , she stepped closer to the doors to make out what they were saying , but all she heard were a few muffles .

" I would have thought from a gentlemen from a family as as-teamed as your's , would understand that " Cornwallis looked up at Tavington , Tavington just stared at him blankly and then continued to speak

" My late father scwanderd at any esteem in which we held , along with my inheritance " He paused " I advance myself only through victory "

" You advance only through my good graces , these colonials are our brethren . And when this conflict is over we will re-establish commerce with them " He explained " do you understand Colonel ? " Cornwallis asked .

" Perfectly my lord " Tavington replied giving him a slight understanding nod .

Jessica backed away from the doors when she heard Tavington's fast and heavy foot steps coming towards her . Tavington then opened the doors he was obviously ticked from the look on his face .

" Colonel , what did he say to you " Jessica asked curious, after he finished closing the doors to Cornwallis's office .

" It's nothing , It's non of your business anyway " He sneered obviously pissed . Jessica didn't say anything back .

" I'll escort you to your room now " He said leading her up to her room .

When they reached Jessica's room they each stopped in-front oh the doorway . facing each other ,

" Get some rest tonight , you are to start work first thing in the morning . I'll be here in the morning to wake you then . Good night Miss Martin " He said with a hint of anger that still lurked in his voice .

" Good night Colonel Tavington "

she stepping into her room Colonel Tavington closed her door locking it . Jessica sighed as she walked towards the cot climbing on top of it , sliding under the only blanket she had . She placed her head on her pillow as she tried to get comfterable . It didn't take long for her to fall asleep .


	7. Unexpected morning surprise

" she spoke " Benjamin paused " Susan talk t-to you " He said smiling in shock . It had took Gabriel a while for him to get back to the old Spanish mission in Black-swamp , Gabriel had only arrived early that morning returning to his father Benjamin Martin

" Full sentences , as if she had been speaking all along " Gabriel said smiling back to him " Damn i wasn't there for it " Benjamin sighed

" What did she say " he asked

" Father " Gabriel said back to him .

" What is it " He replied back ,as he stood starring at Gabriel . " It's about Jessica " . Benjamin Martin's face had a look of concern now .

" well , what's wrong Gabriel , is she doing okay , Is she not getting along with the other's ? " He asked

" Father I'm afraid it's worse then that " Gabriel frowned starring back at his father .

" Gabriel , what's happened to her " He asked , his voice filled with fear .

" That night , when John Billing's and I arrived at aunt Charlotte's later that night after the British had burned her house , When we got to aunt Charlotte and the others . I noticed she wasn't there , aunt Charlotte said while they were hiding from the British Green Dragoons "

" The Dragoons , those bastards " Benjamin sneered interrupting Gabriel .

Gabriel nodded in agreement .

while they were hiding " Gabriel continued " Jessica was hiding some-ware else , they waited for her to join them . But she didn't come back , she was taken " Gabriel sighed , Benjamin looked confused for a moment .

" How do they know she was taken , she could have still been in that house " He said

" They saw them " Gabriel replied . "we should go " Gabriel said standing up starting to walk away . " were ? " Benjamin asked

" To save Jessica were else ? " He asked confused turning around to face his father .

" That's just what the British want Gabriel , they will use her as some sort of levredge to get at us . "  
" Then what do you suggest we do ? " Gabriel asked

" We wait until we come up with a plan , we can not act on foolishness or it might just cost us our militia again . And I'm afraid we will not get away with what we did last time again

" Benjamin stated , sitting down on a chair behind him " Unfortunetly we cant do much to help her right now " He sighed

Gabriel walked back to his seat sitting down .

" I'm worried " he said quietly

" I know " Benjamin Martin replied

Jessica opened her eyes rolling over to hear a knocking at the door , She got up quickly from her bed grabbing her robe that was lying on the floor . she heard another knock

" Just a minuet " She called out She shoved each arm through the sleeves and adjusted her night gown , " Come in " she said as she finished making herself decent .

Jessica looked at the door confused to see General O'Hara walked through the door stepping into her room .

" Good Morning , Miss Martin " He said greeting her with a smile .

" Morning General " She replied .

" were is Colonel Tavington , he said last night that he would be here to wake me , I didn't expect you to be here "

O'Hara looked at Jessica a little offended

" Not that it's a bad thing , General " She lied . O'Hara then smiled again

" Colonel Tavington had to get an earlier head start on the day . But he said he should be back this evening to visit you " . Jessica nodded " I see " .

" Well General , what are my orders for the day "she asked .

" Well before the Colonel left he did tell me that he wanted you to proceed with the job you were given yesterday "

he told her .

" Now , I'll leave you to get dressed and ready i will be waiting outside your door when you are ready " O'Hara said . " Yes sir "

" Very well then " O'Hara said leaving the room and closing the door .She sighed to herself , she felt like she had no freedom there was no point on running away since there was a officer keeping watch on her at all times .

Even last night when she went to go relive herself she had to get someone to unlock the door for her , and if that wasn't bad enough she couldn't go to the bathroom alone without someone waiting outside the door for her .

Jessica pulled her nurses outfit out from the drawer of her night-stand . she quickly got dressed and put her hair up , when she was finished she walked over to the door , she twisted the handle . She was surprised to find the door unlocked . O'Hara stood there waiting to escort her out of the mansion .

" Shall we Miss Martin " O'Hara said waiting to leave .

" Yes general O'Hara " Jessica said .

" Then come with me " He said . O'Hara lead Jessica through and out of the Mansion taking her to the stables .

"We will be riding on separate horses , you will be riding that one there " he said pointing over to a beautiful pure white horse

" and I will ride this one here" O'Hara said placing his hand on the horse slightly stroking its shiny black coat .

Jessica walked over to the horse preparing herself to mount it , O'Hara came from behind her to help sit up on the saddle . Jessica turned her head to look at O'Hara , she suddenly felt uncomfortable .

" I'm fine general I can manage , thank you " she said sitting up on the saddle.

" Yes , Miss of course " he said stepping back from the horse blushing a little .  
Jessica knew that O'Hara was just being nice , but she wasn't about to get all friendly with the enemies .

O'Hara sat up on his horse as it walked towards hers , he came beside her taking the long reins of her horse holding it into his hand . " we should be going now

" He said as he motioned the horses to walk . " General O'Hara , i can take the reins of my own horse " she said annoyed .

" I'm afraid i can't let you do that Miss Martin , you could run away for all we now . " He chuckled a little . Jessica sighed

" why would I when obviously I cant ", she was going to plan to talk to Tavington about her freedom when he returns .

When They arrived at the camp , O'Hara drop her off a little ways away from her tent saying his goodbyes, then leaving he made his way back to the mansion taking both horses with him .Jessica headed over to her tent , as she lifted the flap walking into the tent she stopped dead in her tracks in shock .

She felt a lump rise up in her throat and her heart race a bit but she instantly dismissed it. She saw Colonel Tavington sitting on one of the cots His vest , jacket and hat were tossed aside . Tavington's face screamed pain as he held his right arm . His white blouse and hand were covered in blood . He looked up at her when he heard her enter .

He was trying to hold back the pain , that was now spreading across his face .


	8. An Invitation

" Colonel Tavington , you need to lay down " She said kneeling down on the ground beside the cot helping him gently lay back .

" Just a second " she said standing up rushing over to grab the tray with all of her medical supplies off of the stand . She quickly walked back over to him .

" Where were you ? , " He said trying to keep his voice strong without any hint of pain . He didn't want to look weak in-front of her .

" I'm sorry , i thought you were gong to be here in the morning to wake me , but evidently you weren't . So O'Hara came to my room to wake me up a little late " She said to him , as she sat on the ground placing the tray of supplies in-front of her .

" A little " He paused trying to hide the expression of pain on his face

" You should of been here an hour ago " He complained . " Well it not my fault " She said angrily ." Now relax " She paused to look at him .

" I'm going to need to remove your shirt " She said starring at his wound that now caused a good portion of his sleeve to be blood stained .

" There " he said pointing to his boot " There's a dagger strapped to my boot . You can use that " He said . She leaned down to his boot taking out the dagger she moved back up to his shirt starting to cut it off from the collar down .

as she ripped his shirt open Jessica could see more off his toned stomach . She began to blush when she noticed herself starring at his muscular torso .

Tavington smirked when he noticed her blushing , but his smirked turned into a look of pain when she tried pulling down the sleeve over his wound .

" You're going to have to work with me Colonel " She said calmly to him helping him up a little so she could remove the rest of his shirt .

Jessica then tossed the bloody shirt behind her , She took a rag from the tray , dipping it into a bowl of water , then proceeded to tend to his wound .

" Aah " He winced and groaned , " if you haven't noticed yet that area is sensitive " he hissed  
She rolled her eye's .

" well its going to need stitches , i cant start without disinfecting it first though " She said taking some ointment onto the rag . " This is going to sting a little , just relax " She said gently placing her hand on his arm to brace him .

Jessica dabbed the rag onto the wound , Tavington breathed in deeply through his nose tilting his head back squeezing his eye's shut . He started to think to himself he hated how pathetic he looked in-front of her . And he cursed himself .

Jessica finished wiping all the blood away , putting the rag back on the tray she took a needle and some thread .

" You were shot weren't you , how did it happen ? " Tavington heard her ask him . " I was ambushed by a stray militia man "

" A Militia man ? " She asked quickly , starting to stitch up his wound

" Yes , i was riding on my horse alone when it happened , he tackled me off of my horse I killed him "

She nodded listening to his story , still continuing to stitch up the rest of his arm . She wondered more about the man he killed , her father probably knew him since he was part of the militia . This made her question more thing's she wondered about her father and brother . She missed them , all of them .  
" Before i did though he managed to shoot me before i got him " He finished

Jessica finished stitching him up she cut the excess thread and tied it off , She sat back inspecting her work checking the stitches to see if they were secure enough .

" Sit back up " She said she needed to wrap up his arm . He used his left arm to slowly push him up into a sitting position . She then started to wrap his arm .

" Now , you will need to rest for a while that means no riding or work today . When you're well enough to get back to your regular routine , you have to be very careful . " She finished

.  
Tavington wasn't agreeing to what she was telling him " It's noting , I cant just take a break for a flesh wound . I have an important job to do . " he said sighing .

" I'm pretty sure that a bullet wound isn't just a flesh wound " She paused " you can either rest for the day , or you can choose to get back to your important job this minuet injuring yourself even more , and you can rest for a couple of more days if you would like . It's your choice " She snapped at him .

Tavington said nothing but just nodded in agreement .

" Good " She said as she stood up taking the tray and supplies over to the stand , placing it down . she organized the supplies as Tavington placed his right arm across his stomach and the other under his head to look at Jessica .

" I..wanted to tell you something " Tavington said as Jessica turned her head to look at him .  
" Go on Colonel " She said curiously , turning her head back down to the tray , she organized a few supplies on the tray even though they didn't need to be .

She just wanted to do something so it wouldn't be so awkward with just her and Tavington .

" I wanted to apologize " He said quietly to her . " For what ? " She asked still moving around some supplies .

" I'm sorry if i hurt you the other day " He said still trying to have a strong voice without sounding to soft . " Hurt me ? , You didn't hurt me Colonel . I already told you I was fine

" She ensured him , turning around to give him a slight smile showing him that everything was fine . But she had to admit she was scared when he laid his hand around her neck .

He exchanged a smile smile back to her , " and there was one more thing i wanted to tell you , well actually its something i want to ask you " He added ,

" Well , ask me " She said walking over to sit on a cot beside his . She plopped down on the cot , looking at Tavington she wondered what he could possibly want to ask her . Se hoped the outcome wouldn't be a bad one .

Tavington then began to continue , " There is an event coming up soon a-" He was quickly interrupted by three soldiers quickly entering the tent .

Two of the soldiers were carrying each arm of the soldier around there shoulder's . The man was definitely in pain , he had a large gash on the side of his stomach blood covered the entire bottom of his jacket and leaked down to his pants .

" Miss , can you help us bring this man over to one of the cots please " The one soldier asked her impatiently , but not in a rude way

" Yes , sorry of course I'll help " Jessica stood up quickly rushing over to help them .  
" What happened to him ? " Jessica asked as she stared at the man's deep bleeding wound

" Were not sure miss , we were only ordered to bring him here . But we think he was stabbed by a bayonette

" The one soldier replied to her " Lets bring him over to this cot here , I need to tend to him fast " Jessica said leading them . They brought him to the cot slowly lowering him down .

You two may leave now , I'll take care of him . He will be fine here , Thank you " She said as she finished laying him down and making him comfterable .

" Yes Miss , Thank you " The one soldier said nodding , One of them then Noticed Colonel Tavington " Colonel " He said giving a slight bow as the other one proceeded to do the same . Tavington just nodded back . the two soldiers then turned away and left the tent .

Jessica knelt down beside the man removing his jacket and vest placing them further over beside her , she lifted his top up slowly to see that he was loosing a-lot of blood and fast . Jessica got up rushing back over to the tray to lift it off the stand to take it with her . When she returned back to the man she knelt back down to him .

Taking a rag she placed it over his wound applying some pressure to stop the bleeding but not enough to hurt him .

" what's your name ? " She asked him .

" Lieutenant Eme- " He stopped to wince in pain " Emerson Adams " He finished " Okay Emerson just put your head back and rest . You're going to be al-right " She said removing the rag from his stomach she took a wet cloth to clean up his wound .

As Jessica cleaned up the blood she wanted to know what Colonel Tavington was going to tell her before they were interrupted . " You were saying Colonel ? " She asked turning her head to glance at him . Tavington looked back over to her .

" Never mind , I'll tell you some other time " He sighed . Jessica said nothing back and just continued to tend to Lieutenant Adams .

Tavington just laid in silence Starring up at the top of the tent thinking to himself . He would just wait to tell Jessica what he wanted to ask her later . Since first of all they had company and second of all , he hated to admit it but he was a bit nervous .

A few hours passed from when Lieutenant Adams had arrived A few more men entered the tent after him , but in those few hours Jessica and Tavington had engaged in a-lot of conversation , He didn't bore her either. To Jessica's surprise she actually didn't mind Tavington's company .

" How is your wound colonel Tavington ? " she asked him as she wrapped up another soldiers wounds .

" Not bad , the bleeding stop a while ago and the and the pain has certainly improved

" He said looking down a his right arm .

" Good , you will be good and back to work by tomorrow then " She smiled to him , finishing tending to the man's wounds .

" Al-right your all done , you can put on the rest of your clothing " She said to the soldier in-front of her . Putting his shirt back down he got up and put his the rest of his uniform on .

" Thank you miss " He said tilting his hat to her .

" No problem , and remember to be very careful of your stitches " She said smiling sweetly at him . " Yes miss i will , thank you again " He smiled back then left the tent .

Jessica walked over to Tavington sitting down on the ground beside him . She didn't wish to sit on one of the cots since it had a few blood stains scattered across it .

" well that's the last of them " She said looking down at the ground ripping out a few strands of grass .

" Why are you so nice to people ?" Tavington interrupted her. He didn't understand why she was being so nice to the enemy .

and he especially didn't know why she was so nice to him , after all he's done . He wondered if he even deserved her kindness .

" Why " He heard her ask " Is that a problem , to be kind to people ? "

" No , but we are the enemy . I wouldn't expect you to show any respect to us "he said to her , He knew that he didn't show any respect to his enemies . Everyone knew that , but then again he was being a little more softer then he would like to be with Jessica .

But why not , he thought to himself . There was no need to cause any more damage then he had already done to her .

" I show respect , because a person is a person Colonel , no matter the sins or mistakes they have made . Every one is equal and deserve respect . People think I'm to nice , Perhaps i am. But that just who i am ".

She finished Still plucking pieces of grass out of the ground . " Well you sure didn't show any respect to me in the beginning " He slightly chuckled . " True " she said smirking at him

Tavington just looked at her , he admired her . He wished he could show more of those kind of emotions too . As he talked to Jessica more and more he wanted to show those emotions to her too. Tavington shook his head slightly getting himself back to reality .

" I don't think I could ever deserve your kindness , or anyone's for that matter " He said quietly to her , Jessica could hear that shame fill his voice . She didn't know what to say , she had never met anyone so cruel like Colonel Tavington . But the more she talked to him she didn't see that in him .

She sat in an awkward silence for a moment thinking for something , but she couldn't find the words to say to him ." I wanted to discuss something with you Colonel " She said quickly changing the subject

" what is it ? " he asked her . " I wanted to talk about ' freedom ' , I don't appreciate being watched twenty four seven and have an officer waiting outside my door all the time . I don't see the need " She complained to him .

" No , I cant trust you to run away . How am i suppose to know you haven't snuck out while everyone is asleep . Or not watching you " He replied blankly to her .

" There's no point to run away when i obviously can't. " She argued back to him " I can't even go to the bathroom without someone following me I just want some privacy " She continued .

He sighed heavily " Fine I'll grant you some privacy for when you need to use the bathroom , but that's will be officers watching near by " He Argued back his voice serious now .

Jessica decided there was no point to argue back since she knew Tavington wouldn't let her get her way . " Thank you Colonel " She replied . " Now there is something i need to ask you " Tavington paused

" There is a dinner tonight and i was wondering if you would like to join me ? " He asked her.  
" Colonel are you sure you will be well enough to go tonight , you really should get some more re-" he cut her off before she said anything else.

" I'll be fine my arms obviously going to be quite stiff and sore but its just a dinner . " He reassured her " Now are you going to come with me or not " He asked her again .

" Al-right " she smiled sweetly " I'll go with you " she looked at him smiling

" But i don't have anything proper to wear , all i have is my night gown and this " she said looking down at her nurses dress than now had a few mixed stains of blood and ointment on the apron .

" I'll take care of that , I can get you a new dress later that you can wear this evening "

She couldn't understand why he was doing this for her . It's like he had forgotten who her father was , Maybe he was just doing this to real her in , Then she would tell him what he wanted to hear about her father . But she still didn't get it , he must know she wouldn't be so stupid as to do that .

She decided not to give herself a headache over it , so she just nodded and thanked him .


	9. Dinner

AN: enjoy this next chapter , and please , please review : )

Late afternoon arrived and Tavington already decided to get dressed and leave to get Jessica's things . Jessica sat alone in the tent any soldiers that were there before had left as-well . She didn't expect any one else would show up . She couldn't stop thinking about the dinner coming up , she wondered who was going to be there other then Lord Cornwallis and General O`Hara . She was nervous about Lord Cornwallis the most though , when she and Tavington arrived at his office last night he didn't even acknowledged the fact that she was even there .

And just ignored her instead , which made her feel uncomfortable and awkward . Jessica`s thoughts were interrupted by someone entering the tent .She looked up to see O`Hara standing there . " Hello General " She said to him

" Hello Mrs Martin " He smiled " Colonel Tavington told me before he left that you were joining us for dinner tonight , is that right ?" He asked her " Yes General , I am " She replied .

" Very well than i shall take you back to get ready then , your job is done for the day . Someone will come to take over if anyone is to arrive here " He told her . She nodded as they both proceeded to leave .

When they arrived back at the mansion he escorted her back inside and to her room , When she entered her room she took her hair out of her low bun so that is flowed down to the middle of her back .

She tired fixing herself up to the best of her abilities . She couldn't do much since she had no brush to comb her hair . She tried combing it with her fingers but it didn't make much of a difference . She just sighed as she stared at herself through a large Mirror that hung on the plain wall by itself.

Jessica stopped what she was doing to hear a knock at the door .

" Come in " she said stepping away from the mirror to face the door to see who is was . Tavington opened the door stepping inside , he carried a rectangular box with him .

" here " he said stopping in-front of Jessica , handing the box over to her .  
She took the box from his hands , walking over to the little table beside her cot she placed the box down to open the lid . She gasped when she took the dress out of the box holding it up

" Its not much , But i thought it would be perfect for tonight " She heard Tavington say from behind her.

She inspected the dress still holding it up , it was a simple white all lace gown , but it was still very elegant . It had short puffy sleeves and the bottom of the dress had a slight train .

" Not much ? , Its absolutely beautiful , I've never had anything like this Colonel " she faced him to smile .

" I'm glad you like , I thought you would . There are a few other things in the box I got for you " He said pointing to the box . Jessica was to shocked by the dress to even noticed the other thing's he had bought her .

She looked into the box to see a few items laying there . She giggled to herself when she noticed a small silver brush , Just what she needed she thought . A new pair of shoes that looked almost slipper like with a tiny heel and some make-up she could wear if she wanted to .

" Thank you for all of this Colonel " She smiled again .

" You're welcome , it was no trouble at all " He said giving her a slight smile back .

" Now I will leave to get washed up and ready i will be in my room waiting for you . it just across the hall , just come and get me when you're ready " He told her , and with that he turned and left the room closing the door behind him . Jessica looked back at her dress still impressed by it .

She put the dress down on her cot and decided to go to the bathroom to get washed up , to look more presentable .She took her robe along with her , when she stepped out of her room , she felt a sense of relief when there were no guards waiting to escort her to the bathroom . Jessica just smiled to herself and decided to take her time walking to the bathroom . Since this was the only time she would get some space from anyone .

Jessica slowly but surely arrived to the bathroom , she twisted the handle of the door . When she entered she walked in to see hot steam rising from the already filled tub that was waiting for her . There were a few soap bottles and bars that were placed on the floor along the tub that she would wash herself with . She quickly got undresses out of her soiled and dirty dress and hung her robe up on the door behind her before The water cooled .

Quickly stepping into the tub the hot water instantly sent goosebumps all over her body . She sat down as she laid her body down resting her head back on the edge of the tub . Jessica just closed her eyes for a moment enjoying the hot water from all around her that calmed her senses . She wished she could just stay in that moment of relaxation forever , but she had to get washed up and ready for dinner .

She took her right arm from out of the tub reaching down to grab a few soaps , she sat back up taking a bar of soap in her hand she rubbed it all over her chest , back , arms and stomach cleaning of all the grime and dirt off of her body . When she finished with that she moved on to washing her hair with some of the bottled soaps .

Jessica rinsed her all of the soap from her hair the once clear hot bath water was now cold and filled with dirt from her body along with some suds from the different varieties of soaps she used . She decided it would be a good time to get out and start dry herself of . She stepped out of the tub grabbing a few towels off of the rack to her left .

Jessica finished , folding her used towels back up she put them on a counter . Showing that they have been used so if that anyone found them there , they could be washed if necessary .She took her robe that was hanging from the hook of the door , and put it on . Taking her other clothes in her arms with her she left the room , heading back to her own .

She entered her room again folding dirty dress and putting it back into the drawer of the table beside her cot . She wished she could wash her dress of all the blood stains and dirt that had gathered on her dress over time , perhaps she would later . She thought to herself .

She took the silver brush and make-up out of the box bringing them with her over to the mirror . She gently stroked her hair with the thin bristles of the brush , making her hair smooth and free of knots . Jessica decided not to put on her new dress until her hair dried for a while , in the mean time she started to apply some make-up .

She looked in the mirror she looked pale and the dark circles around her eyes showed she was tired . It was a good thing Tavington bought all of this for her . Jessica applied her Blush and a raspberry coloured lipstick , which seemed to greatly improve her tired look .

Now it was time she smiled turning to look at her new dress . Jessica then walked over to take her dress off of the cot where she had placed it earlier. pulling it over her head the dress flowed down to the ground , the back off the gown was like a built in corset with two long strings to tie it up . She took the strings and pulled them gently tightening up her dress .

Jessica looked over to the mirror to look at the dress now that it was on her . She smiled widely to see the results , She had never looked and felt so beautiful before . The dress fit perfectly the neck line of the dress was a little lower then she would have liked , but the dress was to beautiful for her to even really care .

She took her new shoes and slipped them on to her dainty feet , " Perfect fit " she said to herself . She was complete now all she needed to do was see if Tavington was ready

Tavington finished getting himself ready as-well and just waited for Jessica . He got up off of his bed to hear Jessica knocking on his door " Can i come in Colonel " she asked from outside the door .

" Yes you may " he replied back , when Jessica walked in Tavington could nearly feel his jaw drop when he saw her . She looked stunning in her dress ,the fit of the dress showed of her slender curves and the lower neck line showed a bit of her bust .

He was glad with the decision he made when he picked that dress , Jessica watched his eyes as they went up and down slowly . She started to blush at his heavy gaze . She started to clear her throat to break the awkward silence between them . Tavington's bright blue eyes snapped up back to hers .

" You look gorgeous , that dress is stunning on you " He smirked blushing a bit himself .

" Thank you Colonel , you look very handsome yourself " She smiled scanning her eyes down his body she noticed that he just looked the same as before he wore his everyday uniform and his hair pulled back smoothly and queued as always .

" Thank you Miss Martin " He replied back " well we still have some time before we go , come in " he said as he walked over to the door closing it , Jessica walked around a bit looking at her surroundings .

His room was beautiful , There was a four-poster bed , a large wardrobe , two night stands on each side of his bed . The colour of the bedroom walls were plain like hers . But the furniture and the large beautiful windows made up for that .

" Your room is beautiful , Colonel " she said still looking around

" I must admit I'm quite jealous " she chuckled to herself , Tavington said noting but just walked over to the bed sitting down

"Sit " he said motioning her over to sit with him . She stopped looking around to look at him , he sat on his bed waiting for her to sit with him . She felt a little nervous and hesitant to sit with him .

But she proceeded to do what he asked . She walked over to the bed sitting further away from him on the edge barley even touching the bed . Tavington could tell she was nervous to be close to him .

" Don't be shy , I'm not such a terrible brute " He chuckled to himself , smirking at her . Jessica moved herself back further on his bed and inched a little closer to him .

" who else will be attending dinner tonight other then ourselves ? " she asked looking at him .

" A few other high ranking officers a few other women they invited , like yourself . Lord Cornwallis of course and General O'Hara " he finished She just nodded and looked at the bed cover that matched the colour of her dress , she ran and tapped her fingers over it's soft material .

" I can tell you're nervous , Miss Martin " He said looking down at her hand .

Jessica stopped to look over what he was looking at , when she noticed him looking at her hand , She stopped tapping her fingers and placed both of her hands into her lap .

" It's just a little intimidating " She admitted , turning her head looking out the window from behind her to see the beautiful sunset .

She wished her room had a beautiful view like his " There is nothing to be intimidated by , I'll introduce you to everyone . We should get going to dinner now " Tavington said standing up now .  
Jessica turned her head back to him to see his arm outstretched in-front of her .

" Shall we " He said waiting for her . She nodded , standing up she placed her hand into his . He walked over to the door opening it for her .

once both of them stepped out into the hall Tavington held out his arm as Jessica linked her arm into his . As they made there way to the downstairs .

Both Tavington and Jessica walked towards a grand dining room with a large wooden table in the middle of the room that was covered with a few large candles with tons of platters and trays of food . Jessica's mouth just watered at the sight of all the delicious looking foods to eat .

She hadn't had a proper meal in a while and she was craving everything she saw on that table . She looked around more to see Lord Cornwallis at the head of the table O'Hara not to far from him to his right and a few officers on each side of the table accompanied by some women as-well . Tavington and Jessica both stopped in-front of the table .

" May i introduce to all of you " he started , as people looked up from whatever they were doing to look at Colonel Tavington and Jessica standing at the end of the dining table .

" Miss Martin " He said to all of them . " Hello" they all said together giving her slight smiles.

" Charmed I'm sure " Jessica heard Cornwallis say rather sarcastically from the other end of the table  
" Likewise " She said matching her tone of voice to his " Please sit down " he said back to her , Tavington took her hand leading her to two empty chairs for them to sit in . And beside those chairs were a very familiar looking soldier .

"Lieutenant Adams " she smiled looking at him , he had a pretty red-headed girl beside him that looked over and gave Jessica a small smile . And continued to talk to another girl beside her .

" Miss Martin" He said cheerfully , as she sat down beside him . " How is your wound doing ? " she asked in concern " It's quite better now , And looked after my stitches like you asked me to " He laughed a bit . Jessica quietly laughed back " Good " She smiled ,

" You know Miss Martin ? " They both heard Lord Cornwallis interrupted them .

" Yes , my Lord i got into a bit of trouble in battle today . I was stabbed by a boyonette right through my side . I met Miss Martin when i was taken to the nurses tent , that's where she tended to my wound " He finished

" I see , I also hear you had a bit of trouble today as-well Colonel Tavington " Cornwallis said taking a piece of meat onto his fork then placed the fork into his mouth . Jessica looked at the food that laid in-front of her and decided to start eating herself .

Tavington nodded to Cornwallis " Yes , i did "

" And how did you come by that ?" He asked him blankly . " Well " He sighed "

I was ambushed , by a stray militia man I was alone when it happened " he said Starting to cut his meat on his plate .

Tavington felt Jessica nudge his arm " What one do i use first " she asked looking down at the varieties of cutlery that laid out in-front of her . " Just start on the outside on work your way in " he told her , Jessica didn't have any experience with these types of meals like Tavington did .

she nodded and grabbed the first one from the far right and started to eat . " How do you like the meal " she heard O'Hara ask her . " Its amazing , I've never had anything like it " She smiled as she popped a piece of chicken into her mouth .

Cornwallis gave Jessica a few glances as she ate , which didn't make her feel any more comfterable then she already was . " So , Miss Martin " Cornwallis began to speak . Jessica put her fork down on to her plate giving him her attention .

" How are you fairing with your new job Colonel Tavington has given you " He asked her .  
" I am fairing quite well with it actually " She smiled politely to Cornwallis .

" I'm pleased to hear that " he said taking a sip of wine .

Dinner went by slowly and quite boring with the odd small talk , Her and Cornwallis and even O'hara made to each other , to Jessica Tavington looked like he was absolutely bored and would prefer to be some-ware else . Jessica couldn't help but want to leave as-well .

It was her first time being at such a high class dinner . And either than the food , she had rather wished to be back at home with her family enjoying their dinner together like always , she always loved getting time to sit with her family after a hard day of work , in the fields and helping around the house with Abigail . She smiled to herself slightly .

She had nearly forgotten about Abigail , Jessica wondered what had become of Abigail after she was taken away by the British . She had hoped for the best for Abigail safety . And she missed her , she missed her family .

Jessica knew she had too leave she had too run away , But something was making her feel hesitant too .


	10. Why do you let me stay here?

AN: I know this is a short chapter , but it's probably my favourite chapter . Please tell me what you think of the story : )

Dinner finished , everyone said their goodbyes to each other and cleared out of the dinning room . Tavington took Jessica back up to her room

Jessica walked into her room walking straight to the far window on the other side of the room . She pulled the one slightly tattered and old looking curtain to the side , holding it up against the wall she peered through the window to look outside .

She looked around to notice the pale light of the moon shine down on a beautiful large garden she had never even stop to look at before . She wished she could take a step outside to walk through that garden . Jessica just wanted to be alone even thought most of the time she was she just wanted to walk outside to feel and breath in the warm summer air .

Without feeling like she was a prisoner that was being held against her will . She was going to figure out how to plan her escape .

Jessica got dressed into her night gown and robe , leaving her beautiful white dress folded neatly on the cot . She walked to the door to grab the handle gently and slowly twisting it . Jessica opened the door being careful not to make any noise .

She knew if she got caught by Tavington she would be locked up for sure . Jessica practically tip toed out for her room , she stepped lightly with each step she took . Jessica took extra caution when she started to approach Tavingtons room .

She stepped down to hear a sudden loud creek she froze right away . Holding her breath , she feared to make any-more noise then she already had . She listened closely into Tavingtons room to hear if there was any movement of him getting up and catching her .

But she heard nothing and proceeded to move on to the downstairs . When she reached the foyer she stopped and looked around surprised to see no soldiers around on duty . She continued to walk to the two front doors quickly .  
Just in-case , Jessica again slowly and gently twisted the door handles opening the large wooden doors she stepped outside closing the doors behind her . Jessica stood on the front steps taking in the fresh night air and smiled .

Jessica walked down the stairs , she walked across the cool ground to feel the dirt and grass between her toes she looked at her surroundings and knew just by the look of things it wasn't going to be easy to escape, she stopped in-front of the stables to looked down at her feet which were bare and now dirt covered , she lifted her leg to to brush of the dirt .

Jessica stopped when she head a whine from a horse from inside the stables , She noticed two soldiers from outside the front gates look at each other then turn there heads to look at were she was standing in-front of the stable doors .

She slipped inside quickly before they could see her , she sighed as she leaned against the door as her heart raced " That was a close one " She whispered to herself Jessica looked from across the room the moonlight Shawn into the stable revealing a few beautiful horses .

She walked up to a caramel brown horse that was almost the same colour as her own hair , and stroked the horse patting its neck . She remembered the horse she had back at home that was similar to the one she was petting , It's name was maple because of the colour of his hair .

It was always her personal favourite horse to ride . She smiled as she moved her hand slowly down the horses long nose " You're so beautiful " Jessica said still rubbing its nose " You remind me of my horse Maple " She smiled.

her smile quickly faded as she heard the sound of the doors being opened , and she could see the glow of a lantern from the corner of her eye . " Yes she is quite beautiful " Jessica heard a familiar voice say . she turned around to see Colonel Tavington and to her relief she didn't sense any anger in his face and voice , Jessica said nothing but just stared at him .

He wore only his breeches , boots his hair still queued back and a white blouse , that thankfully wasn't covered in blood this time .

She stared at his blouse to see that the neck line of it was rather low cut and revealed his chest , she tried to hold back herself from blushing but failed . Tavington noticed her blushing again and just smirked . " It's funny " he said walking up beside her " This horse never allows someone else to touch her or come near her , other then me " he said as he said patting the horses neck .

Jessica just smiled but then remembered why they were both out here

" How long have you known I was out here ? " she asked , crossing her arms in-front of her chest . Tavington stopped petting the horse and faced her .

He stood quite close and towered over her , Jessica looked up at him to notice he must of been about six feet tall , and herself only five foot four she didn't even come close to his chin .

" Longer than i should have allowed you too , why were you out here " He asked her , Looking down at her Jessica looked down at he ground trying to think of an excuse to why she was out here .

" It's not fair Colonel " she blurted out .

" The only sense of freedom i get around here is the opportunity to walk around that stuffy mansion . And if I'm outside working there is someone always watching me . " She complained trying not to raise her voice to him . What she was saying was partly true , but she couldn't tell him she was planing an escape .

What she said must have been pretty convincing judging from Tavington's reaction . He just nodded his head " You know what I'm going to have to do now don't you " he asked

" No " she answered , playing dumb

" you're going to have to get used to having an officer following you around again, I can't trust you " he said in a stern voice , Jessica's heart sank . She know knew her escape was going to be impossible and not only that , but she lost her freedom as-well .

She just sighed

" Yes , I understand Colonel " she said raising her head up to his

" But Colonel , why do you let me stay here " Jessica sighed .Tavington looked confused to why she was asking , she knew why .

" You told me the night you captured me that you needed my information but you haven't asked me anything since " She said , It wasn't an invitation for him to start asking her now . Jessica just wanted to know why he hadn't asked .

She was right Tavington thought from the time she arrived her till now he hadn't got what her needed out of her . But he didn't want to any more

. Tavington just stared back at her the light of the moon Shawn through the crack of the stable doors , the pale light made it look like Jessica's porcelain skin glowed .The way she looked made him want to kiss her , touch her , it wasn't only just they way she looked now . It was always the way she looked that made him want to . he felt drawn to her .

He said nothing back to her and just started to lean down toward her , Jessica just looked as his lips came closer to her own , she moved up to him closing her eyes she inched closer and closer . Jessica didn't know what she was doing and she didn't know why , but she wanted to . Tavington lifted his hand , running his finger through her hair , he held the back of her head .

Jessica suddenly saw the image in her head of Thomas being shot and falling to his knees. Her eyes flew open as she slid her hand up against his chest stopping him from continuing . Jessica noticed how close there lips were from touching .

She could feel Tavington's hot sweet breath from his mouth , move in between her lips . She pushed him back gently away from her , Tavington straightened his back and just looked at her confused to what just happened .  
" Goodnight Colonel Tavington " she said quietly without looking at him . Jessica gently pushed pass him and walked out of the stables back to the mansion .  
Jessica entered her room closing the door behind her she leaned her back against the door , she lifted her hand to her forehead and ran her fingers through her hair " What am i doing " she whispered to herself .

Jessica was so confused now , She wanted to Kiss Tavington , she wanted to feel her lips pressed against his so bad . But its Colonel William Tavington she thought , She can just go kissing the man that had caused her and her family so much heart ache .

She walked back to the window again to look out into the beautiful night sky . She looked out up at the sky to see the North-star , her mothers star . Her Father had always said it was her star after she died because it was constant , unwavering . A guide , just like her mother was.  
And more then anything right now Jessica needed her mother to guide her now .

" Mother what do I do " she sighed as her eyes began to well up .

A single tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek she wiped it away with the back of her hand , and just began to cry . It had been five years since her mothers death , but she would always miss her and love her , and Thomas too.

Tavington finally made his way back up to his room , he closed the door and started to undress so that he was just in his blouse and un-queued his hair that fell at his shoulders . He walked to the massive windows that took up a large portion of his bedroom wall .

He couldn't stop thinking about Jessica . " Oh get a grip on yourself would you " He scolded himself she is the daughter of Benjamin Martin and he is the Colonel of the British green Dragoons he thought . There could never be something between them , never .


	11. A ball ?

Jessica opened her eyes to the bright light of the suns-rays pouring through the window and into her room , she rubbed her tired eyes hard , trying to wake her heavy eyelids .Laying on her side she stopped to look at the rays of sun on the hardwood of the floor .

She watched as little dust particles circulated in the air , She noticed that the light of the sun had never looked this bright in the morning before . Jessica rolled her body slowly over on the cot looking out of the window behind her .

She could tell just from the sky and the way the sun sat in the sky that it must have been afternoon . She quickly whipped the covers off of her as she jumped up from the cot quickly starting to remove her night gown " I'm late " she complained .

Jessica threw her nightgown aside on the cot and began opening a drawer taking her still soiled and dirty work outfit out , un-folding it . She started to slip it over her head , but then stopped to hear a voice coming from the other side of the door .

" Miss Martin , It's Colonel Tavington will you allow me to come in please " Jessica heard Colonel Tavington ask her in a calm voice . She finished putting on her dress and tieing on her apron .

"Yes, you can come in Colonel " She answers back to him .

She watched the door open to see Colonel Tavington walk into the room . Jessica could feel her face redden with embaresment instantly his presence in the room made her feel uncomfortable and ashamed for even allowing herself to get close with him , from the night before .

" I'm sorry i woke late Colonel " She said .

He stopped a little ways in-front of her , scanning his eyes up and down her , he realized she was in the old usual work outfit . " Mrs Martin you will not be working today " He told her as she looked back at him confused .

" Well how come " She asked trying not to sound like she was complaining to him , She was relived and happy she got to have herself a day off . " And how come you're not to work yourself Colonel " she asked curiously .

" Tha'ts why I have allowed you to have a break from your job today , You see last night Cornwallis wanted to speak with me " he paused sighing to himself " About this " he said glancing down at his arm then back to Jessica " My wound . Lord Cornwallis decided to keep me off from an upcoming battle that took place this morning .

He thought this may teach me a lesson , from straying with my men on my own and getting ambushed . I supposed im being punished for my actions this time or just simply being kept back from the battle in which Lord Cornwallis rather me not be apart of " Tavington finished explaining to Jessica .

" I don't see how that is suppose to do with me Colonel Tavington ? " She replied back looking confused . "Do you remember that event I mentioned to you that was coming up , the other day ? " He asked her ,

Jessica thought for a second then remembered him mentioning something about an event right before she started to tend to Luitenent Adams . "I believe so " she answers .

" Well " he continued . " It's a ball "

" A ball ? " Jessica asked surprised.

" Yes , and i was wondering if you would be willing to go with me this evening . I understand if you do not accept , because of what happened last night , and I apologize Mrs Martin , I don't know what came over me " Tavington said quietly in shame .

Jessica could tell from the expression on his face that he truly felt embarrassed and ashamed , The same way she felt to . But she Still couldn't understand why he felt the need to kiss her . Then again she didn't know why she felt the need to kiss him too .

" Colonel " she started , Tavington look up at her from where he was starring . And gave her his full attention , preparing himself for what she was going to say to him .

" about last night , I asked you a question , you didn't answer that question Colonel, and I was wondering if you could answer me that question now . "

Tavington just swallowed and sighed slightly , then taking in a fresh breath of air before speaking " Miss Martin , I killed your brother ,I've threatened to kill your father and I captured you . " Jessica just pulled her eyes away from him and look down to the sun rays that Shawn across the floor .

" Colon-" she said quietly before Tavington interrupted her .

" What more can i do to you , Miss Martin . How much more could i possibly hurt you to get what I want , I just cant bring myself to hurt you any-more . Before you arrived here it was my duty to capture one of Benjamin Martins children and use you as a tool to get to your father . But as these pass few days have gone by , its not what i want any-more . Not from you ." he finished

Jessica just looked at him in shock , She would never have believed that Colonel Tavington had a good side to him . Before she got to know him she only experienced how horrible he was . " I don't know what to say Colonel . I just never thought you would say this to me , ever . she replied

" To be honest with you Miss Martin , I never thought I would either " Tavington smiled chuckling . Jessica just smiled back

" Now about that ball you were mentioning ... I'll go with you " She said giving him another smile .

Jessica noticed Tavington's face lit up and he almost look relived to hear her say yes .

" I'll Make a few arrangements for a tailor to come and fit you for a dress later this afternoon , for now get ready and i will come by up here with some food for you " Tavington told her .

Jessica nodded in agreement as he turned around and left the room closing the door leaving her to get dressed .


	12. The awkward tailor

AN: Well , here is the next chapter my lovies . Please enjoy and I should have two more chapters up by tonight

A few hours had passed after Jessica had dressed and ate . Tavington arrived back to her room with a stalky short women , which Jessica had known was most likely the Tailor .

"Jessica this is Margaret , she will be your tailor " Tavington said introducing Margaret

"Pleased to meet you " Jessica replied

Jessica's heart sank when the name Margaret came out of Tavingto'ns mouth , How she missed her sisters and brothers so much . She quickly dismissed the feeling when the tailor had ordered her to stand up on a wooden stool

Jessica stood still as the tailor began to measure her .

" so i hear the big occasion tonight is a ball " The tailor said to Tavington as she measured Jessica.

" Yes , that right . Lord Cornwallis enjoys to throw a ball from time to time " He answered as he watched the tailor do her work .

The tailor just nodded her head .

" And who exactly might this beautiful young lady be , Colonel " the tailor asked smiling up to Jessica . Jessica gave a polite sweet smile back .

" Jessica , she uhh , She is the daughter of a Colonel . Colonel Martin " He said awkwardly . He wasn't about to tell the tailor that he captured her and threatened her family .

" Daughter of a Colonel , eh ? "  
"Yes" Jessica answered

" And you two are just friends or ? " The tailor asked

" Yes " Colonel Tavington answered

The tailor just smiled " I'm surprised you have not courted this fine young lady " The tailor chuckled to herself .

Colonel Tavington looked up at Jessica who just looked down in embaressment and her entire face went beat red . Tavington himself could feel his face getting hot with embaressment as-well .

Both of them did not answer the Tailors comment and just stood in embaressment .

" So tell me about yourself , love . Have any other family ?" Margaret asked trying to break the awkward silence . But just made every thing even more awkward

" Yes , I have seven other siblings . Well I-i mean six " Jessica said quietly trying to hold back her tears . Tavington watched as the tears started to well up in her blue-green eye's .  
" How are they? " The tailor asked again , Jessica wished that she would stop asking her these questions .

" I -i well I expect their doing fine , i haven't seen them in a while " Jessica answered again doing everything in her power not to cry in front of the Colonel and the Tailor .

" And why's that? "

" Can I have a moment please I need to use the bathroom " Jessica asked

" By all means , Love " Margaret said politely as Jessica practically jumped off the stool and rushed out of the room .

Tavington followed her out the door , Jessica was leaning against the wall as tears streamed down her face . Tavington just looked at her not knowing what he should do .

"Jessica" Tavington said standing in-front .

" I-I'm sorry , its just I-I miss them so much " She choked through her tears

Tavington could feel his heart sink into his stomach , this was all his fault , he was the one who took her away from her family and cause her this heart-ache.

Tavington pulled Jessica up to his chest and gave her a comforting hug . Jessica nuzzled her head into his chest and squeezed him tightly .

" This is all my fault , Jessica . I'm so sorry " He whispered holding on-to her tight

Jessica didn't answer , she knew he was right ._ He was the one who took her away from her family . He was the one who killed her brother . He was the one who tried to kill her father_ . But Jessica was meeting a whole new different side to Colonel Tavington ._ Could he be the one who she was falling in-love with_ .


	13. Getting ready

After the awkward moment earlier that day with the tailor . It was evening , approaching night . And it was almost time for the ball . Jessica sat on her cot just thinking to herself , she was so confused . She was falling in-love with Colonel Tavington .

Jessica just shook her head , thinking of herself falling in-love with Colonel Tavington sounded crazy and strange . What girl could ever fall in love with a man who took her away from her family and killed her brother , who she loved so fondly . But in that past few days , the way she saw Tavington now then from the way she saw him before she got to know him . Almost made her seem to forget the terrible things he had done , like she was under his spell . Jessica felt like there was going to need to be a decision made between Colonel Tavington or her family .

She had to choose her family of course , she could never just abandon them . But she also felt she would not be able to abandon her feelings for Tavington as-well .

Jessica's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door .

"come in " She called out .

She was surprised to notice O'Hara enter her room carrying a box similar to the one Colonel Tavington brought her last time containing her dinner dress inside .

" General O'Hara , what are you doing here " Jessica asked him as she stood up from her cot and walked towards him .

" Im here to deliver you this " He said holding out the box for her to take .

Jessica took the box from his hands and in-to her own .

" Im assuming this is my dress ? " Jessica asked

" Yes , yes it is , Colonel Tavington apologizes that he could not deliver it to you himself . He is also getting ready for the ball tonight "

" Well , thank you General for delivering to me in the Colonel's stead " She smiled beginning to open the rectangular box . Her eyes widened in shock , Her last dress was very beautiful . But the one she had laid eye's on now , was absolutely spectacular .

She pulled the dress from out of the box , dropping the box and lid onto the floor she held up the dress to admire it .

The dress was a southern Belle style , the colour of the dress was a light green it had a green lace ruffle at the top of the dress at the neckline that went all the way around the back and front creating short shoulders . a matching ruffle was also around the waist , the dress had a tightly laced bodice and the bottom of the dress was layered .

O'Hara watched as she held the dress up to her body and twirled around beaming . Jessica stopped when she noticed through all the excitement that O'Hara was still in the room watching her .

They looked at each other in an awkward silence before O'Hara cleared his throat

"Well , I'm sure you will look absolutely beautiful for the ball , I will leave you now to get ready "

Jessica nodded and thank him again for bringing the dress to her .

Jessica smiled and giggled to herself practically jumping up and down in excitement , now that she had such a beautiful dress she was even more excited for the ball . She stopped when she felt herself step on the box , she lifted her foot off of the box to notice a large crinoline and another little box beneath the crinoline . she discarded the crinoline from the box and examined the other tiny one . She opened the lid of the box to see a beautiful large metal clip with a few jewels on it and another box that was a velvet material.

She opened it an gasped to see a necklace with a blue and white cameo . she removed it from the box examining it closer . It was kind of Colonel Tavington to give her such a beautiful dress , but now she has a beautiful necklace and hair clip to go with it .

She smiled to herself as she gathered all of her things she needed for the ball , and decided to start getting ready


	14. Unexpected Guest

Jessica clamped on her necklace , she looked in the mirror to examine herself as she stood in her new dress , necklace and her hair pined up with the beautiful metal clip securing her hair. Jessica looked over to the far window , she noticed more and more people arriving and she decided it was time to go to the ball. She took in a deep breath , she has to admit she was nervous , this ball was a much bigger event then a little dinner gathering .

Jessica began to walk the door , twisting the handle she exited the room . She felt awkward as she made her way toward the staircase , with her crinoline swaying back and forth , it was her first ever wearing such a thing . As she finally made it to the top of the staircase she looked around to noticed some stray couples walking around the foyer of the mansion . She then noticed three men at the bottom of the stairs conversing with one another .

She realized one of them was Colonel Tavington , as she began to walk down the stairs , she noticed that the other young soldier looked familiar as she got closer to the three men . She realized it was lieutenant adams . The other Dragoon officer that was dressed exactly like Tavington noticed Jessica walking towards them , he nudged Tavington then pointed at Jessica . The Colonel did a double take when he noticed her . He smiled and he blushed at her presence . He extended his hand , she placed his hand in his . Colonel Tavington gently pressed his lips against her hand kissing it .

" You look absolutely gorgeous Jessica " he said smiling releasing her hand and stood up straight .

Jessica could feel her cheeks redden , " Thank you Colonel Tavington , you look very handsome yourself "

" Please call me William " He smiled

" Alright then William "

" Well Colonel Tavington is right you look stunning tonight , Jessica " Lieutenant Adams Complimented . The other Dragoon officer nodded his head in agreement .

"Thank you " She replied

All four of them stopped to look at a petite red-headed girl approach them , it was the same read-headed girl that joined The Lieutenant to dinner apparently she was now joining him as his date for the ball .

" Every one I would like you to meet Gina " Lieutenant adams said proudly showing off his date .They all gave her polite smiles and hello's and nice to meet you's as she did the same back .

" Well we best be joining all the fun " The Lieutenant said holding his arm out for Gina and guided her away from the group and made their way outside to join the rest of the guests .

" Jessica "William said

" I would like you to meet Captain Borden "

" Hello , its a pleasure to meet you " She said politely , she recognized him from the night she was taken away from her family

Borden just nodded back shyly .

"Well Borden , if you would excuse us it time for ourselves to join the party " William said holding out his arm like Lieutenant Adams did to Gina , Jessica linked his arm placing her hand on his arm . As they walked away from borden and outside , Jessica marvelled at the sea of beautiful gown that surrounded them .

" Thank you Colonel Tavington , I-I mean William . For getting me such a beautiful dress and not to mention the Beautiful necklace and hair clip to match ". She said smiling up at him .

" It was no trouble , I'm glad i picked out the dress and accessories I did . I thought they looked Beautiful when i saw the dress , necklace and clip . But now that i see you wearing them , There even more beautiful then when I first laid eye's on them. " William Said smiling back down at her

Jessica's face went even redder then it ever had before , She never would of thought William thought she was so beautiful before . He made her feel happy and beautiful with all of his compliments .

William and Jessica , stopped in the middle of the field as two girls approached them , one with blonde hair and the other dark brown .

"Colonel Tavington " The Blonde one said

" How nice to see you " she said eyeing him up and down .

" and how very nice to see you as-well " William replied back

" And who might this be , a date of yours? " The brown haired one asked looking at Jessica with a hint of jealousy in her eye's

" This is Jessica Martin and yes she is going as my date for this wonderful evening . Jessica may I introduce you to Harriet ( brown haired ) and Josephine ( Blonde ) "

Jessica gave a smile " A pleasure to meet you both "

" Charmed I'm sure " Harriet said in a sarcastic tone , just like Cornwallis when they first met at dinner .

William looked at Jessica and could tell she was feeling uncomfterable by Harriet and Josephine's presence

" excuse us " He said taking Jessica by the hand and leading her away from the two .

William lead Jessica to the large beautiful garden Jessica had seen out of her window before , that night in the stables .

Jessica looked around as the entered the garden , finally she had a chance to explore the garden she had wished to explore before . the garden has high walls of bushes like a maze and pretty varieties of flowers surrounded them .

"This garden is Amazing I don't think i have ever seen anything like it " She beamed

William Just smiled as he lead them to a small bench made out of rock . The both of them decided to sit for a while on the rock bench .

Jessica Looked up at the beautiful clear night sky , to see all the bright stars among them , the stars were so illuminated and Stood out so much from the black sky that she could hardly believe they were even real .

Her eye caught a familiar star " Its the North-Star " she said quietly pointing to the sky

William looked up to where she was pointing and noticed the North-Star

" Stars , beautiful and such wondrous thinks aren't they " William said still looking up in the sky .

" Especially the North-Star , It's my mothers star "

William started to wonder about her mother , what she looked like , what she was like . And if she was missing Jessica as much as the rest of her family was .

" I bet she is a wonderful lady , like her daughter "

" Was , She was a wonderful lady . One of the best " Jessica said with sorrow filling her voice

'Was' William thought to himself , he hated the thought of knowing her mother had died as-well , and knowing he had taken her brothers life . Leaving her with no mother and one less brother .

" She died five years ago when I was thirteen years old , one day she came down with a fever , scarlet fever . She never recovered from it and later on died . There is not a day that goes by where i don't think about my Mother , she was beautiful inside out . She was my best friend " Jessica explained as a single tear rolled down her cheek .

" and there is not a day that goes by where i don't think about my brother " she said under her breath , she could feel her eyes starting to well up .

Thats when she broke down and started to cry , William's Heart felt like it was smashed into a million pieces . what he would have done to take back what he did that day he arrived at the Martin's Farm .

William grabbed her chin in between his fingers and turned her head up-to his revealing her wet tear stained face .

"Im so sorry " William whispered to her , and with that he pulled her into a deep kiss , Jessica felt warm inside at the feeling of both of their lips pressed up against each other for the first time , William placed his hand at the back of her head running his fingers through her pinned up hair . Jessica then herself placed both of her hands at the back of his head , returning him kisses .

" Jessica? " A voice said from the bushes .

Jessica's eyes opened wide when she heard the familiar voice call her name , she pulled away from William to notice her brother Gabriel peeking out from behind the gardens bushes .


	15. Goodbye

Gabriel , my god , is that really you ! " Jessica nearly shouted in excitement , getting up from where she was sitting beside William she ran over to Gabriel . Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him into a warm embrace . Jessica noticed Gabriel was not returning the embrace back to her . Instead he stood tense in his spot . Was he not happy to see her , or was he angry at her . Had he seen her and William kiss , she thought in a panic . Gabriel gave Jessica a slight shove causing her to step back from him looking confused at him .

" Jessica what is going on , _why_ are you accompanying Colonel Tavington ! " Gabriel said in a shout , causing Jessica to jump , she had rarely seen her brother this angry before , but she could understand his anger . Gabriel did not know of the relationship that had been built between her and William . Tavington just stood still in his spot from behind Jessica and Gabriel , his hand was not to far off from his pistol . He had no intentions of wanting to kill Gabriel like he had before he met Jessica , but he was not afraid to defend himself from the possible dangers ahead .

" Gabriel , please let me explain , Me and William -"

" You and _William " _Gabriel said Tavington's name in utter disgust .

" Please do explain , it seems I had gotten here just in time to see you kissing ..._him . _How could you , _he_ killed Thomas Jessica , or have you forgotten already ! . " Gabriel spat , Jessica hung her head low , she felt ashamed and guilty for kissing William now .

" And _you " _Gabriel said in anger as he lifted is arm from his side with his pistol now in his hand .

" Gabriel , please don't do this " Jessica begged as she extended her arm over to Gabriel's , she tried lowering his arm but his arm was tensed and strong , along with his hand all the way down to his fingers . It had seemed that at any moment Gabriel would pull the trigger and shoot Colonel Tavington . Gabriel wrenched his arms from Jessica's grasp and continued to aim his pistol at Tavington .

" What did you plan on doing with my sister Colonel Tavington , did you figure that maybe if you took her to a ball , gave her fancy clothes . That would make her fall under your charm , would it make her more willing to give any information you needed about our militia ? "

Jessica didn't understand why Gabriel thought she would be that stupid to fall under his charm and give any information regarding the militia's whereabouts , but ... was she beginning to fall under his charm when he had kissed her . And she returned kisses back all the more , she thought to herself .

" Mr Martin , I was not planning on getting you sister to fall under any charm of mine . If I wanted to get any information out of her , I could have gotten that information out of her in many different ways " Colonel Tavington said , cool and calmly , but still kept alert and aware of the situation around him .

" And what are those many different ways , what were you planning . Or what _have_ you done with my sister ? , Jessica what has he done to you !" Gabriel demanded , Jessica could feel tears in her eyes beginning to form . This was such a disaster .

" Gabriel " Jessica said quietly and her voice quivered .

" Did you hurt her , huh? . Or did you rape her ? Tell me . Did you take my sister innocence you bastard !" Gabriel shouted in anger , Jessica felt embarrassed . She could hardly bear the thought of Colonel Tavington trying to ravish her for information .

" No Gabriel ! " Jessica shouted back with tears rolling down her face .

" I did nothing to your sister ! , I just so happened to fall in love with your sister ! " Tavington growled , his eye's pierced into Gabriel's in anger . Colonel Tavington himself could not picture himself raping Jessica , or severely beating her for information ... Even though he may have had those intentions when he captured her . She was so fragile and had such a sweet soul , he didn't want to break that soul . Instead he wanted to treasure it .

Jessica thought to herself , Tavington loved her ...?"

" You don`t love her ! , you're only using her ! "

Gabriel still refused to lower his pistol , so Tavington then raised his . Jessica was panicking more then ever now , how could such a beautiful night turn so ugly . Everything was perfect .

" Please don't do anything you will regret , please " Jessica begged the two of them . As she walked in between them , if they would shoot their weapons off . They would end up killing her .

" Listen to your sister Martin , for god sake's " Tavington said not diverting his gaze away from Gabriel's .

" Trust me Jessica , killing Tavington would not be a regret . It would be a pleasure . " Gabriel sneered .

Jessica felt like she could do nothing now to stop the two from killing each other . Maybe this is how everything was suppose to end , but something in the distance grab the attention of Gabriel and Tavington . They heard the sound of voices coming towards them , one female and the other male .

" Get out of here now ! , If you two are caught leaving here you both will be hung , and if the Militia came with you Gabriel , then all of you will be caught and hung . Please Jessica you need to be protected " Tavington said lowering his pistol . Walking up to Jessica he placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her a little , so that she understood him clearly and seriously . Jessica just nodded her head .

" I can protect my own sister Colonel , leave her be " Gabriel said coolly . Finally lowering his pistol he put it back to his side , walking up to Jessica He firmly took her hand in hers .

" Lets go , you heard the Colonel Jessica ."

Jessica just looked into Colonel Tavington ice blue eye's , she wished that they could have finished spending their time together , but she had to leave , she had to go back with her family . Where she belonged .

" Goodbye Colonel Tavington " Jessica said to him before Gabriel led Jessica to where he had come from , Tavington said nothing but just watched as Jessica went through the tall bushes of the Garden and vanished from his sight .

Tavington noticed that Captain Wilkins and a raven haired girl were walking through the Garden , the voices they heard earlier must have been coming from Wilkins and his date . Colonel Tavington could hear the girl marvelling over the garden , just like Jessica had done when she first entered it . Captain Wilkins noticed Tavington and walked up towards him with the girl still by his side . Colonel Tavington was in no mood to talk to Captain Wilkins .

" Colonel Tavington , where has Miss Martin gone , I thought she had accompanied you tonight . What did she do _run away_ from you already . " Wilkins chuckled to himself . Tavington on the other hand had a face like stone and had shown no emotion to his comment . Since that's what Jessica in fact had done . Run away with her brother .

" No , captain , she had already decided she would retire for the night, I escorted her to her room and came back out here , but I think I shall retire myself . If you would excuse me " Colonel Tavington said , as he both passed Wilkins and The Raven haired women . Leaving them standing in the garden by themselves


	16. Blinded by love?

Jessica and Gabriel made there way thought the garden , sneaking around bushes making their escape , well it was more of an escape for Gabriel then it was jessica , She felt like she was leaving a piece of her heart behind further and further as they ran leaving behind The mansion and Colonel Tavington .

" Please Gabriel , don't tell father " Jessica begged Gabriel , if her father found out that she had kissed the enemy . she was scared he would never want to speak with her again .

" I have no intention to , we'll keep it as our little secret " He said still holding Jessica's hand leading her toward a large lake where she could see a boat with he father and a few other militia men .

Her heart raced when she saw her father , it had been so long since they have seen or spoke to each other . Benjamin Martin Noticed Gabriel and Jessica approaching them , he immediately jumped out of the boat and raced towards Jessica greeting her with a large hug and planted kisses on her forehead .

" Thank god you're alright , I was so worried about you . " He said to her joyfully still hugging her tightly . As much as Jessica felt bad for leaving William , she was so happy to see her father after so long .

" I love you so much father " She said tightly hugging him back

" I love you to , Jessica , your sister and brothers are going to be so excited to see you "

Jessica's eyes lit up , to hear her father mention her sisters and brothers

" There alright , oh thank god I thought the worst had happened to them when i was taken that night at Aunt Charlotte's . Is Aunt Charlotte well to " Jessica asked

" Yes , yes all of them are fine and doing well " He father beamed

"Colonel we should be leaving now , who knows how much longer we have before we are caught " Jessica heard a Frenchmen say sitting in the boat from behind her father , anxiously and nervously waiting to leave .

" He's right , its time to leave and get you back where you belong , with your sisters , brothers and your Aunt Charlotte " Her father said leading her and helping her inside the boat .

" Jessica " She heard her brother say , she looked behind her to where he was standing

"It's good to see you again " He said smiling , Jessica gave him a smile back

"I've missed you "

"I've missed you too , Jessica "

As her brother , father and herself made their way into the boat and were all settled they began rowing away , Jessica watched as her memories for the past few days were slowly getting harder to see as they rowed further and further away from the Mansion .

Benjamin Martin looked up and down at Jessica to further notice her fancy attire .

"Where did you get all that from " He said pointing to her outfit . Jessica looked down looking at the things Tavington gave her .

" Oh I-Umm , There was a ball tonight and a Lieutenant decided he wished for me to join him . They gave me a spare dress they had stored away " She lied , She was not going to tell her father anything about Colonel Tavington , absolutely nothing .

"Where did you get the necklace and hair clip , there beautiful? " He father asked again

"They were also spare's " She said quietly lying once again .

Jessica picked up the necklace from her neck , fingering it she watched as the mansion got smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared from her sight .

that night Gabriel had decided to take Jessica to Gullah island to join the rest of the family . On their journey Gabriel wanted Jessica to ask a few questions he wanted her to answer.

" So , what is he like?" Gabriel asked breaking the silence as the two of them rode on horse back .

"He's different Gabriel " Was Jessica replie to his question

" well thats obvious , I know my sister . And I also know that she wouldn't be kissing a man just lightly , without a reason " He said , as he gave a small kick to the sides of his horse , clicking his tongue ordering the horse to pick up a bit of speed .

"What went on those past few days " Gabriel asked catching up beside Jessica .

" Well , when i first arrived " Jessica Began

" I was a nurse for the first few days , attending wounds and such . I went to a dinner to "

" A dinner ? , with Colonel Tavington I assume " Gabriel said

"Yes "

"So the ball wasn't the first event you joined him to " Gabriel Smirked , almost ashamed of Jessica's actions but he continued to listen to what she had to say about the colonel , her explanation about what he was really like .

" No , it wasn't " Jessica said embarrassed

" He is truly sorry for what he did , Gabriel . And he had proved himself to me that he is really sorry " She said

" Jessica , Thomas was your brother , as-well as mine . No apology or kindness could ever erase what Colonel Tavington did or bring back Thomas " Gabriel explained to Jessica

Jessica thought to herself Gabriel was right an apology and kindness could never make up for what William did or bring back Thomas , perhaps she was being blinded by love , she thought .

" Don' tell me you are blinded by love " Gabriel said , as if he were reading her thoughts .

" I am not blinded by love " she said quickly in defence

" Do you love him " Gabriel asked in a serious tone

"I-I don't know " She answered quietly .

Jessica picked up her necklace once more ,looking down at it as she started fingering it . The more she thought about loving Colonel Tavington , the more she wasn't sure if she truly loved him or not


	17. The task

After what seemed like hours to Jessica , Gabriel and Jessica had finally arrived on Gullah island . Jessica looked around the large beach , few little shacks occupied the beach along with people who lived on the beach as-well .

" Father said this would be a perfect place to hide ." Jessica heard gabriel say from beside her

"from the looks of it , it does look like a perfect place to hide " Jessica said still looking around her new hideout place .

As Gabriel and Jessica entered the little community of Gullah island , she noticed a few familiar faces .

"Jessica ! " Her sister susan cried , running towards her with her mothers old doll in hand . Jessica stopped her horse stunned to hear her sisters voice and her name come from her mouth . It had been forever since she last herd Susan's sweet little voice . Jessica quickly jumped off of her horse and embraced her little sister with a big warm hug , and placed kisses on her cheeks .

" Susan ! , Gabriel was right , you have been speaking . I almost didn't believe him when he told me , Oh I've missed you all so much " Jessica said smiling giving her sister another hug , Susan just smiled wrapping her tiny arms around Jessica .

" You still have mothers doll I see " Jessica said as Susan let go of Jessica stepping back with her arms at her sides revealing her mothers doll in her tiny hand .

"Yeah " Susan smiled giggling .

Jessica stood up when she saw her other siblings running towards her with arms wide open . Jessica opened her arms as all of them practically tackled her with hugs almost sending her backwards . Jessica just smiled and laughed as they gave her welcome back hugs , She felt so happy and so relived to see that her sisters and brother were alright .

" did you miss us " He little brother William said , laughing

" Did I miss you all ? Of course I did I was scared to death about you guys " Jessica said standing up adjusting herself .

" We were to " Nathan said . Jessica just gave him a smile

" Where's Aunt Charlotte " Jessica asked looking around , She then noticed her aunt charlotte and abigail appear from behind one of the shacks .

Jessica started running towards her aunt Charlotte and Abigail , leaving Gabriel behind with the rest of her other siblings .

" Aunt charlotte , Abigail . Im so glad you are both alright " She said hugging Aunt Charlotte then hugging Abigail .

" I thought I would never see you again , Abigail " Jessica said letting go of Abigail's embrace , stepping back to look at her aunt and Abigail both .

" I never thought i would be seeing all of you children as-well " Abigail smiled

" Its great to have you back Jessica " Aunt Charlotte said to Jessica .

" It's nice to be back "

Gabriel and the others walk over to join Jessica , Charlotte and Abigail .

" Im afraid I have to be leaving again " Gabriel sadly said to all of them placing his hat back on-top of his head

" So soon , but we just got here . Wont you stay a little longer Gabriel " Jessica asked , insisting him to stay a little while .

" Im afraid i can't , but i'm hoping I shall be returning to you all shortly " he replied

" Well if you must then . Please be careful Gabriel " Jessica said giving him a tight hug as all the other joined in to hug him good-bye .

" I promise " Gabriel whispered into jessica's ear

It was the usual day for Colonel Tavington , without having Jessica around . And He had to admit that he was missing her . Thing's just weren't the same without her , to talk to , or to be with her . Tavington and four other Dragoon officers rode up the hill on their horses approaching the large mansion .As two other Dragoons officers trailed of and headed for their camp , Borden and Tavington headed to the stables .

Once Borden and Tavington reached the stables they each dismounted their horses taking them into their stable .

" You seemed different today , is everything alright with you " Borden said taking his saddle from off of his horse .

" what do you mean by , different " Colonel Tavington questioned him.

" You're quiet , you were hardly giving orders today " Borden said , feeling a little relived that for a day they didn't have Colonel Tavington barking out orders all the time to the other officers .

" And your point would be " Tavington sneered a little , taking the bridal off from his horse hanging it from a nail that was sticking out from the stable wall .

" You're missing the girl , aren't you " Borden stood looking at him waiting for his reply . Knowing that , thats what was bothering the Colonel.

" Yes , I do " He admitted , feeling empty . Knowing that he may not see Jessica again .

" Well , maybe you should do something about it " Borden said stepping from out of the stable .

" Like what , Borden . Do you want me to go after her like a love sick school boy and say I love you Jessica , and i want you to come back " Tavington said , wishing inside that he could do just that .

" No , but - "

" She is the daughter of an American Colonel and I am A British Colonel . It could never work out " He said cutting off borden , everything Colonel Tavington was saying to Borden the more he wished he could go to her and say I love you and beg her to come back , to be with him .

Borden said nothing but just nodded .

Tavington and Borden stopped to hear the sound of the large wooded doors being opened in-front of them , and then saw the sight of General O'Hara stepping inside .

" General? " Borden said , wondering why he was there .

" Lord Cornwallis wishes to speak with you right away " General O'hara said looking down at the stable floors , concerned he was going to scuff up his black shiny boots from the dirty floors .

" Of course " Tavington said making his way out of the stables leaving Borden behind as General O'Hara followed behind him , to the mansion .

" I See our young captive has escaped Colonel " O'Hara said as they walked through the foyer .

" What ? But she is watched at all times . How could she have escaped " Colonel Tavington acted surprised as if not knowing where she had gone to .

" Yes , I went to wake her in her room myself because you had left early this morning . But she was no where to be seen . Her disappearance is just what Lord Cornwallis wishes to speak to you about " O'Hara replied " He is a little suspicious about how she could have disappeared "

' Great ' Colonel Tavington thought to himself , just what he needed . Another chat with Lord Cornwallis , why was it always him .

Colonel Tavington stopped in-front of Lord Cornwallis's office as O'Hara opened the doors for him . Stepping into his office , Tavington saw non other than Lord Cornwallis sitting in his desk waiting upon his arrival .

" Colonel Tavington " Lord Cornwallis said from across the room

" My Lord "

Cornwallis , nodded his head before he began to speak . " Now Colonel as you have most likely notice , Jessica Martin is no longer present at our estate ..why is that ? . I know you had taken Jessica to the ball with you and just coincidentally , she had disappeared that night . Tell me Colonel do you have any idea where she could be ? " Lord Cornwallis asked , having a feeling that Colonel Tavington was partly responsible for her disappearance .

Tavington couldn't tell Cornwallis he let Jessica and her brother escape without notifying anyone .

" No , No my Lord I do not know how she had disappeared , General O'hara only notified me a few moments ago about her disappearence . I escorted her to her room as normally , and she went into her room as normally " Tavington explained .

" Is that right ?" Cornwallis asked still suspicious

" Yes " Tavington answered confidently

" Do you know what this means now Colonel ? , it means now that she has escaped she could have information about us . Instead of us having information about the militia from her . " Cornwallis said concerned .

" I understand that my Lord " Tavington replied , knowing full well that Jessica couldn't have found out information about them.

" Then i want you to do something about it , and fast . Who knows how much she has spread already " Cornwallis said overreacting . " I want you to capture them , Benjamin Martin , or even he girl if you have to . Find out anything you can about the militia's whereabouts . And capture them , its time that the militia come an end " Cornwallis sneered .

" And when do you want me and my men to start finding out this information my Lord ? " Tavington asked raising an eyebrow

" Dawn , at the first light "

" Yes my Lord "

" You are dismissed now " Cornwallis said nodding his head towards the door signalling him to leave the room .

Colonel Tavington turned on his heal , ans walked out of the room

Tavington thought for a while as he walked down the hall heading to his bed room . If he didn't complete the task Cornwallis had given to him ,he was scared it could cost him his job . And if he completed the task Cornwallis had given him , the possible love between himself and Jessica could be lost .


	18. Dreams and Daydreams

AN: Hello everyone ! , i am so excited that this is my 18th chapter ! . I honestly thought i never would have made it this far in the story , but here we are ! . I want to say thank you to those of you who have reviewed , I am so happy you told me what you thought and gave your advice . And to those who have been reading my story as-well **THANK YOU** ! . Also i may not be updating another chapter in a day or so because of some assignment I must do . But do not fret more chapters will be up soon ! Welp enough of me blabbering . **ENJOY** the story my dear readers !

* " Especially the North-Star , It's my mothers star "

" I bet she is a wonderful lady , like her daughter "

" Was , She was a wonderful lady . One of the best She died five years ago when I was thirteen years old , one day she came down with a fever , scarlet fever . She never recovered from it and later on died . There is not a day that goes by where i don't think about my Mother , she was beautiful inside out . She was my best friend and there is not a day that goes by where I don't think about my brother " I watched her start to cry in-front of me , I want to comfort her . wipe all of her tears away from her beautiful face .

"I'm so sorry " I whispered to Jessica , I was so sorry . so sorry about all the wrong I had done in her life , I wanted , needed to kiss her . I craved her full lips , every thing about her I felt myself starting to crave . So I did , I tilted her head up and leaned in closing my eyes . My heart skipped a beat when I finally felt her lips on mine .

And I love her .*

Tavington's eye's opened , he felt his heart in his chest beat faster then normal . He sighed in dissapointment , he wished he didn't have to wake up , he wanted to be in the place where he could spend his time with Jessica always . It had been two nights now since Jessica left him and the mansion behind , and for those two nights he had dreamt of his few days with Jessica .

Tavington lifted his head to look at the grandfather clock that stood across from him , five twenty three it read . Tavington let his head fall back hard on the pillow , he quickly remembered about his discussion the other night with Lord Cornwallis and decided it was time to get ready for another day , another day without her .

Tavington stretched his legs and arms in his bed preparing himself to get out of his warm comfterable bed . Once finished he lifted himself into the sitting position , swinging he legs out of his bed he got up and began getting dressed .

Once Tavington was dressed in his full uniform including his boots , hair queued back and his helmet under his right arm he was ready to leave . But before he did he needed to make a little visit .

Colonel Tavington slowly creaked open the bedroom door of Jessica's old room , to his surprise he saw her cot unmade with her blanket practically curled up in a ball . His heart sank when he looked over to the night-stand to see her robe and nightgown neatly folded , laying on-top of the night-stand . Tavington stepped inside the room walking towards the night-stand . He opened the drawer of the night-stand to see her nurses dress and dinner dress folded and crammed up in the drawer . He smiled to himself at the memories .

Closing the drawer he picked up the robe in both of his hand holding it up to his chest tightly hugging the robe in his arms , it was the closets thing to Jessica , it was something of hers that he could cherish to himself . He put the robe back down when he began to feel tears well up in his eye's . It was one of the few times he had felt anything so much before . Tavington decided to leave her bed unmade , and her clothes neatly folded a-top of her night-stand , and left the room wondering if Jessica was missing him as much as he was missing her . And was she happier to be away from him ?.

It had been a day since Jessica last saw William Tavington , and she never thought more about him then she had now . Even though Jessica was reunited with her family , and as happy as she was to be . She still felt that piece of her heart she left behind with William .

Jessica knelt down beside a large wooden tub full of laundry that were soaking in water . while Jessica and her families stay Abigail and a few other females made her and her family extra clothing Abigail had hand made Jessica a pretty deep purple quarter sleeve dress , made from a light material perfect for the hot summer weather . Jessica tied her hair up out of the way from the water , as she hung over the top of the tub scrubbing the dirty clothes clean .

Jessica paused for a second when she went to grab her green ball gown , she ran her fingers over she lace on the neckline of her dress . She stopped what she was doing for a while to admire the dress and daydream about her night with William at the ball .

*" Its the North-Star

" Stars , beautiful and such wondrous things aren't they "

" Especially the North-Star , It's my mothers star "

" I bet she is a wonderful lady , like her daughter "

" Was , She was a wonderful lady . One of the best She died five years ago when I was thirteen years old , one day she came down with a fever , scarlet fever . She never recovered from it and later on died . There is not a day that goes by where i don't think about my Mother , she was beautiful inside out . She was my best friend "

" and there is not a day that goes by where I don't think about my brother "

Jessica remembered felling William grabbed her chin in between his fingers and turned her head up-to his revealing her wet tear stained face to his .

"I'm so sorry " William said before kissing her

Jessica thought about his lips on hers for the first time , William was in fact was her first kiss she ever had in her life . She cherished the feeling of his warm lips on hers , enjoying every second of their kiss . Before she heard Gabriel from the high garden walls say *

" Jessica .. Jessica " Jessica heard , snapping her out of her daydreaming state , She turned around and looked up to see who was standing behind her . The sun-rays blinded her from seeing the face of the man . But she recognized the blonde hair and blue uniform .

" Gabriel !" She said excitedly standing up giving him a hug

" You're already back so soon ? " She asked , it was only a day ago he had left and already he had returned to Gullah island again .

"Yes , we decided to give the men a weeks break . To see their families and such . Fathers came back with me as-well , he's over there talking to Aunt Charlotte " Gabriel replied turning around to point where Aunt Charlotte and their father were speaking .

" I need to speak to you , just me and you " Gabriel said lowering his voice into a whisper .

" What is it ? " Jessica asked , Gabriel took her hand and led her to a more secluded place

" Do you remember Anne ? " Gabriel asked as they both stopped behind a shack

"Anne..."

" Anne Howard , Peter Howards daughter . Her parents used to visit and bring Anne along to play with us " Gabriel said re-jogging her memory

" Yeah I think I remember now , was she the one with the really curly long brown hair ? " Jessica asked reassuring her memory.

" Yeah"

" Oh ! i remember her , she was the one that you had a huge crush on , and always told me you were going to marry her one day " Jessica laughed at the thought of their younger years .

Gabriel laughed along with his sister

" Well , it looks like that not to far from the truth " Gabriel smiled , Jessica stared at him for a moment . What was he trying to tell her , then it hit her .

" Gabriel , thats amazing ! " She smiled giving him a hug

" But when , when will you get married . And when will you tell father about it ? or have you told him about it ?" She asked excitedly knowing she was going to have a sister in-law and her brother would finally be married .

" No i haven't told father about it yet . and were getting married very soon . While you were away and before that I had been seeing during our trips to Pen-Brook and I have been writing to her as-well . I realized I loved her and it tears me to be apart from her from this cruel conflict the which me and father are upon , So I decided to ask for her hand in marriage " Gabriel said smiling wide and blushing at the thought of soon claiming Anne as his wife .

" Oh Gabriel I'm so happy for you .. and Anne " She smiled hugging Gabriel once more

" Well we better get back to father and the others their going to be wondering where we disappeared to "

" Yeah , and I better get back to my chores " Jessica replied , as they both made their way back to the family , and Jessica's laundry waiting for her to finish.


	19. I now pronounce you Mr and Mrs Martin

Jessica and Gabriel sat a-top of some old crates as they watched their other siblings and father laugh and giggle as they caught fish with their handmade wooden spears in the near lake in-front of them .

" Gabriel , I have been wondering this for a while and well . Do you think Aunt Charlotte and Father love each other " Jessica asked taking a bite into her juicy granny smith apple , wiping away the juice of the apple that ran down her chin as she sat on-top of the crate swinging her legs back and forward .

" I've often wondered about that to , I'm not really sure though if they actually do " Gabriel said , taking a bite out of his own apple .

" I mean , have you ever seen the way she has looked at father before , even when we used to visit her in Charlestown . She could never not smile around him every-time she saw him and blushed too . " Jessica said , as she watched her brother samuel catch a fish from the water with his spear .

" Like i said i have often thought about it , and yes i have noticed the same as you . But I guess even five years later , and i know this seems silly for a man of my age but I'm not really ready to see father with someone else . I mean I would of course be happy for him but it would take some adjusting to " Gabriel admitted to Jessica .

" There is no shame in feeling that way Gabriel , I think we all feel the same . But everyone must move on , I miss mother so much . and Thomas , but life does move on and we must along with it " Jessica said looking at her brother waiting for his reply .

" You're right , I miss them both too . Although we must move on they will never move on from our minds I guess " Gabriel replied , Jessica nodded in agreement .

" Have you moved on yet Jessica? " Gabriel asked

" Of course it will take time Gabriel , like you said I will move on but they will not move on from my mind " Jessica answered taking another bite into her apple .

" I meant him , have you moved on fro-"

" I dont want to talk about it Gabriel " Jessica said quickly , cutting him off . Of course she hadn't moved on . It was like asking Gabriel if he had moved on from Anne all this time while he was away at war , of course not when they still had a relationship . Jessica thought there was still something Between her and William .

Gabriel just nodded understanding Jessica .

" I think I'm going to tell father , about me and Anne " Gabriel said

" Tell me what about you and Anne Howard " Jessica and Gabriel both heard from beside them , their father sat beside them on the old crates wondering what Gabriel wanted to tell him .

" Uhm , Well " Gabriel said nervous to tell his father about the news.

" Go on Gabriel " Jessica said giggling nudging him to speak .

" You once said father " He paused " when I had a family of my own that perhaps I would understand .. You were right " Gabriel said looking down at the ground waiting for his father reply

Benjamin Martin just looked at him then began to smile . " You're trying to tell me something ? " Benjamin asked . Jessica and Gabriel just smiled .

They all looked up to hear a horse whine and saw a wagon , approaching Gullah island with the Howard's inside , and the reverend following behind on horse back .

They all smiled widely " Congratulations " Jessica and Gabriel both heard there father say .

" I think we should go greet our newest family member " Jessica smiled jumping of the crate , planting her feet on the ground .

Gabriel and Benjamin both stood up from the crates , all three of them decided to go greet their guests

Jessica , this is Anne Howard " Gabriel smiled " And her mother and father " Gabriel said proudly Showing off his soon to be wife and in-laws .

" I Remember Jessica " Anne smiled " Its so great to see you again after all these years " Anne said giving Jessica a hug .

" And it's so great that you are going to be the wife of my brother after all these years , he's always had quite the crush on you even when we were little " Jessica laughed

Anne laghed along with her " Yes , and Gabriel's way of flirting was putting ink in my tea , well got him back for that "

" Oh my gosh I remember that , it stained your teeth black for a month " Jessica and Anne both laughed reminiscing about their childhood memories .

" Oh i'm so glad you're going to be my sister in-law Anne . I wouldn't ask for anyone else " Jessica said hugging her tightly .

" Me too " Anne said hugging her back ,

" Alright you two , we have a wedding to start " Gabriel smiled taking Annes hand in his .

" Well lets not waste anytime " Jessica said smiling widely

Jessica Katherine Martin will you have this man to be your husband in the covenant of marriage " The reverend paused " Will you love comfort and honour him for long as you both shall live " The reverend asked waiting for Jessica's reply

" I Will " Jessica said smiling at William , as he beamed back at her . Jessica and William were surrounded by their family and friends , who all watched the two of them be wed .

Jessica looked over to see her father tearing up , sad to see his little girl finally getting married , Jessica just smiled at him as he smiled back .

" William Edward Tavington , Will you have this women to be your wife and live together in the covenant of marriage to love comfort and honour her as long as you both shall live "

" I will " He replied proudly

" Then by the power invested in me by our mutual faith in the lord , our god . I pronounce you man and wife ."

Jessica herself started to feel her eyes well up with tears , it was finally the day where she would be able to call William her husband and William be able to call her his Wife .

Jessica watched as William leaned down to Kiss her , Jessica closed her eyes to feel his lips on hers . Thye kissed as the crowd cheered wildly .

Jessica stopped daydreaming to hear her family and the rest of the crowd cheer around her and running up to Gabriel and Anne giving them big hugs of congratulations . Jessica herself got out of her seat making her way towards Anne and Gabriel giving them warm hugs . Jessica was to wrapped up in her thought of William to even witness the wedding .

William , William , William , William . His name kept running through her head . You need to find him Jessica , William , William , Find him . It was like a voice was whispering into her ear . Jessica questioned whether she loved him or not less , She knows she does love him . And she was going to find him .

Jessica walked around the crowd of people who were dancing and playing home-made wooden instruments around her , making her way through they crowd she noticed her father walking through the crowd towards her with something in his hand . Jessica and her father both stopped in-front of each other , she looked down to notice her mothers old necklace in his hand , what was he doing with that , she wondered ?

" Would you mind giving this to Anne for me Jessica ?" Her father asked holding out the necklace to her . Jessica reached out her hand taking the Necklace out of his hand and into hers .

" Anne ? " Jessica questioned , she felt a tint of jelousy run through her when her father had decided to give the necklace to Anne instead of his own daughter .

" Yes , as a wedding present , she is a new member of this family . So I figured this would be the perfect gift " Benjamin smiled .

" Al-right I'll give the necklace to her right now " Jessica replied , still feeling a bit jealous but tried to dismiss the feeling , she was just acting selfish . Which was not her normal self . Jessica turned around starting to make her way thorugh the crowd once more trying to find where Anne might be . She felt a hard nudge from behind her from a dancing man .

" sorry " Jessica said as she still pushed through heavy crowd , their sure were a-lot of people celebrating the wedding .

Jessica walked over towards Abigail who was a few feet away from her dancing with a larger, taller man .

" Abigail , do you know where Anne is ? " Jessica asked as Abigail turned to face her .

" What did you say dear " Abigail asked loudly over the loud music

" Anne , do you know where Anne is " Jessica said practically shouting , so Abigail could hear her .

" I think she is over there with Gabriel , honey i just saw them a few seconds ago " Abigail said pointing to there far left

Jessica stood up on her tippy toes trying to look over the dancing people , she then noticed the two newly-wedded couple in a corner , beaming at each other and giving small pecks to one another .

" Thank you " Jessica said , before she left Abigail heading towards Gabriel and Anne's direction . Jessica finally finished pushing through the crowd and made it to Anne and Gabriel , Anne turned around to notice Jessica walking straight towards them giving them each a warm smile .

" Hello Jessica , how are you enjoying the party . Its something isn't it " Anne said looking at Jessica then looked down at her hand to notice she was holding something tightly in her hand .

" I think its great , it is quite the party Anne " Jessica smiled then quickly remembering she had the necklace in her hand she opened up her hand to reveal her mothers necklace to Anne .

" My father wanted me to give you this Anne , its my mothers old necklace . He said it would be a perfect wedding present " Jessica said as Anne gasped and her eyes widen at the sight of the Necklace .

" Its absolutely stunning Jessica ,your father is right it is the perfect wedding present " Anne beamed , looking at the star necklace hat still laidd in Jessica small hand .

" May I Anne " Jessica said taking the necklace holding it up to Anne , Anne nodded and turned her back to Jessica . Jessica lifted the necklace over her head and onto her neck , she then began to tie the the long blue ribbon into a bow . " Its the North Star " Jessica began " Its constant un-wavering , a guide " She said proudly as she secured the necklace on-to Anne's skinny neck .

" I would be honoured " Anne said , in thanks . As she turned around facing Jessica again . They gave each other a hug before Gabriel stepped in .

" I think its time for me and my wife to have another dance , shall we " Gabriel said extending his hand to Anne .

" You may " Anne smiled taking his hand and smiling at him like he was her knight in shinning armour .

Jessica just watched Anne and Gabriel start walking into the crowd to dance along with the other people until Jessica heard Anne say wait to Gabriel , letting go of his hand she approached Jessica once more .

" I almost forgot to ask you , I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming back with me and my parents to PemBroke . I thought mabey we could spend some more time with each other and catch up on something's , while Gabriel and your father go back . I understand if you don't want to because you just arrived back here with your family and you rather stay with them " Anne explained to Jessica .

Jessica thought for a moment , PemBroke was not to far from the British estate . If she went with Anne , maybe she could make a few secret visits to William . This could be her only chance . And it would also be nice for her to spend some quality time with someone near her age .

" I know if I were you I would prob-"

" Of course I will come with you to PemBroke " Jessica smiled , interrupting Anne .

Anne just smiled back " Great , we will be leaving tomorrow as soon as Gabriel and your Father leave " Anne said , Anne and Jessica both looked over to the impatient Gabriel who was still waiting for Anne to come dance with him .

" Well you better get back to Gabriel , he gets pretty cranky after a-while " Jessica giggled , Anne nodded giggling back as she turned away from Jessica and joined back with Gabriel .


	20. PemBroke

Jessica awoke to the hot sun on her face pour into the room from a large crack in the roof of their shack . She slowly pried open her tired eye's , she squinted her eyes shielding the bright morning sun that was shining into her eye's . She watched through her squinted eyes to watch the little dust particles floating in the air in-front of her . Jessica turned her head to look behind her at the bed beside her , she noticed that it was empty of any bodies . She must have slept in , Jessica looked around the room for any sign of a clock , but could find one .

She woke her body up as she stretched her tired limbs , she relaxed her body as she stared up at the ceiling above her . Today she would be leaving to go to Pen Brook , she thought . Wait , Pen Brook she remembered , her eyes widened as realized she had totally forgot that she was going to Pen Brook , and she slept it . Did they leave without her she thought in a panic as she sprung out of her bed . They couldn't have they wouldn't just leave her .

Jessica grabbed her purple hand made dress , pulling it over her head and putting her arms through the sleeves she straightened out her dress and combed through her brown hair with a small wooden brush with hard bristles . She tugged on her hair pulling out all of the knots , making herself presentable . Once she was finished she placed the wooden brush back down on the dresser table beside her , and proceeded to rush to the door of the shack .

Opening the door she ran into a figure that was standing in-front of her .

"Ummpf " Jessica made a sound bumping into a man , She looked up to see her brother Gabriel .

" I see you are all ready to leave , I was just coming to see if you were awake yet " Gabriel said looking down to her .

" I'm sorry if I kept all of you waiting " Jessica apologized stepping back from her brother from their little collision. .

" Don't feel bad , we only woke up a little earlier then you did , me and father should have been gone earlier , we slept in to . I guess we're all just pretty tired from the wedding party last night " He smiled

" I guess " she smiled back to him " I assume you will be leaving with father very shortly then? " Jessica asked

" Were getting the horses ready now , Anne and the rest of them are waiting outside "

" I best be joining them " Jessica said as Gabriel stepped aside letting Jessica pass him to get outside .

Jessica rounded the corner of the shack to see her Aunt Charlotte , Anne and her parents , Abigail with the tall man from the earlier night from the wedding . And her brothers and sister.

" Good morning Jessica " Abigail said

" Good morning " Jessica replied , She looked at the man who was standing beside Abigail smiling at her .

" And who might this be Abigail , if you don't mind me asking " Jessica said smiling at Abigail , Abigail just blushed and gave a small smile back .

" This is Joe , Joe this is one of Benjamin's lovely children Jessica " Abigail said introducing the two .

" Its very nice to meet you Joe " Jessica said , Joe extended his hand politely . Jessica extended her as he took her hand in his giving it a small shake .

" Like wise , I have meet all your brothers and sisters and I have to say Abigail is right about you children . You are quite the lovely bunch , your father is lucky to have children such as all of you " Joe said politely smiling wide .

" Thank you " Jessica replied , Jessica watched as her brother an father approached them . It was time for them to leave again .  
Jessica just gave a wink and a smile to Abigail , teasing her about Abigail and Joe . Abigail just smiled as Jessica walked away to talk to her brother and father .

" I'll see you in PemBroke soon " Jessica heard Anne say as Gabriel cupped her face in his hands .

" Not soon enough " He replied giving her a goodbye kiss . Jessica just by passed them awkwardly letting them kiss away . She walked up to her father who was speaking with her brothers .

" I know say my prayers and look after my Brothers and Sisters " She heard Nathan say as her father laughed giving Nathans head a rub shaking his hair in between his fingers. Benjamin then walked up in-front of Jessica .

" So I hear you are going to Pembroke with Anne until me and Gabriel return to Pen Brook "

" Yes ,Anne thought it would be nice having a little girl time together " Jessica replied

Benjamin just nodded " I love you " He said giving her a large hug , Jessica squeezed onto him tightly . She could start to feel the tears well up in her eyes , who knew if this was going to be the last time she could see her father . Or brother for that matter .

" I love you to father , please be safe . I'll pray for you and Gabriel to return home safely " Jessica sniffled wipeing away a tear with the heel of her hand .

Her father released her , Jessica faced him as he wiped a few tears away from her face .

" I'll come back , I promise " Her father whispered to her , she just nodded back .

Gabriel stopped beside her father to see Jessica's tear stained face in-front of him . His father stepped aside , and leaned down to talk to her crying sister Susan as Gabriel gave Jessica a hug .

" I love you Gabriel " Jessica said wrapping her arms around his neck tightly .

" I love you too , have a good time in PemBroke with Anne " He said letting her go .

" I'm sure I will " She replied giving a slight smile

" Dont worry about me Jessica " Gabriel said with his hands on her shoulders .

" How , when i don't know whether I'll see you again " Jessica said as a few new tears crept out of her eyes , falling down her cheek .

" I will come back , I'm not going to leave you all behind " He said giving her one last hug . Gabriel looked over to their father and Aunt . " Look " Gabriel said to Jessica .

"Goodbye" Her aunt Charlotte said to their father .

" Goodbye " He said , he looked a bit hesitant before he finally kissed her . Jessica and the rest of her family giggled at the sight . " I think you were right about father and Aunt Charlotte liking each other " Gabriel laughed .

" Who knows Gabriel , maybe we will be calling her mom soon " Jessica laughed back . Gabriel just smiled .

" Gabriel..Its time to go " Her father said a bit grimly . Gabriel nodded . Walking away from Jessica and to Benjamin .Jessica and the rest of them all watched as Gabriel and her father gave their last goodbyes and headed to their horses mounting them. Giving a nod and a wave they both rode away on their horses back to Black Swamp .

" I think it's time for us to be leaving now as-well " Jessica heard Peter Howard say behind her . Jessica and Anne turned their heads nodding in agreement .

" You wont have to worry about packing anything to wear dear , Anne has offered some of her dresses for you to borrow " Mrs Howard smiled .

" Thank you Anne " Jessica said thanking the still tearful Anne , Anne just said nothing but gave a slight smile .

Tavington and Borden lead the other Dragoon officers through the winding path through the thick forest. They all rode in silence until Borden spoke to William Tavington .

" Sir , where do you suggest we go for this information regarding Benjamin Martins where about's " Borden asked curiously pulling back on the reins of his horse , slowing the pace of his horse to match Tavington's .

Tavington thought for a second , he heard that there was a little town not to far from them called PemBroke . Apparently they have been giving aid to Benjamin Martin and his rebels , they would have the most information about them . But he would not ask of information about Benjamin Martin , oh no . He had something else in mind , he was far more interested in Jessica Martin's where about's instead .

" PemBrook " Was Tavington's only reply .

" PemBrook , why PemBroke? " Borden asked again

" Because apparently they have been giving aid to the militia Borden , that's why we're going there "" Tavington answered Borden's question .

Borden nodded as they headed in the direction to the small town of PemBroke .

The Howard's wagon made its way through the forest heading back to PemBroke with Jessica Anne and Mr and Mrs Howard inside .

" I'm so worried about him Jessica " Anne said quietly sniffling . Still devastated from Gabriel's departure

" Don'y worry Anne , my father and Gabriel will return . Don't be discouraged " Jessica said as she looked up to the sky to see heavy clouds rolling through the sky covering the once bright blue sunny sky above them . Funny how such a bright day could get dark so fast , Jessica thought to herself .

" Have you met anyone yet Jessica , someone who you have fallen in love with " Anne asked as if she was questioning Jessica's feeling to whether she had felt the same as her before .

" Well , there is the one guy " Jessica started

" Yeah " Anne said curiously leaning in like Jessica was about to tell her one of her deepest darkest secret .

" Its not really that important " Jessica lied , there was no way she was going to say she had feelings for a British colonel .

Anne just leaned back again disappointed Jessica didn't divulge any information about this 'guy'.

Jessica sat back in her seat as she saw a clearing in the forest approach them , and the small town of PemBroke come to view . Jessica squinted her eye's narrowing in on the town in-front of them to see men in red a green uniforms with noticeable black hats on horse back ride through the town . Her eyes widened in realization and her heart nearly pounded out of her chest . It was the British Green Dragoons invading the little town of PemBroke .

" William " Jessica said under her breath .


	21. Not here not now

**AN: I am so sorry that I haven't updated any chapters in like a week or so I Have had a HUGE writers block . I would write a chapter then delete it because it was ridiculously bad and not thought out . And I have just been caught up in School work lately , and since it was just christmas I have been busy spending time with family .** But now that i have been getting past all the work and christmas is over and not to mention the writers block is passing . I Am happing to be **finally **posting this chapter , enjoy !. ( **I will be coming up with another chapter soon for my pirates of the caribbean story soon as-welll , so if you have been reading that one too. I just wanted you to know I am not abandoning that story . Or even this one ) Oh and on more thing thank you to the reviewer who corrected me and said that the town was spelt Pembroke . I always thought it was Pen Brook but Oh well : ) .**

As the Howard's wagon rolled into the town of Pembrook , Jessica's was practically making herself dizzy from constantly shifting and moving her eyes side to side looking everywhere in the town of Pembroke , looking at every face in case one of them might have been Williams . She wanted to call out Williams name she wanted to jump out of the wagon and find him . Jessica's heart raced as they made there way further into the town . It was just one step closer to perhaps seeing William again .

" Whats going on here ? " Anne asked concerned as she looked around at the many redcoats that now swallowed the town around then .

" Your guess is as good as mine my dear , its not everyday redcoats show up in Pembroke " Mr Howard replied as they still pushed through Pembroke, until and Dragoon officer rode up towards there wagon stopping in front of it .

" Whoa " My howard said commanding the horses that were pulling the wagon to come to a halt

" Everyone has been requested to gather at the church " The Dragoon officer said sitting up tall on his horse .

Mr Howard looked at the man with an unsure look on his face , he recognized the Dragoon officer , he had seen him before.

" Mr Wilkins? " Mr Howard asked confused . The officer just looked at him acting as if he had never seen him before , he just ignored his comment and continued to give orders.

" Colonel Tavington " In that moment when Jessica had heard the man say Williams name her heart had raced and butterflies flew through her stomach ' I'm finally going to see him again , what if he dose not love me anymore , what if he dose not care for me .' Jessica though as questions ran through her head .

" Wishes to adress the whole village. " The Dragoon Finished saying to the Howard's and herself . Mr Howard and Mrs howard Just looked at each other as if they knew that , that meant trouble . As Mr Howard gave a little whip to the horses and the wagon began to move forward , Jessica knew she had to know more .

" Wait ! " Jessica said without thinking , Anne just looked at her not sure of what she was doing . The dragoon officer stopped his horse to look back at Jessica who looked like she was about to practically jump out of the wagon .

" Colonel Tavington , where is he , how is he " Jessica said boldly , what was she doing . The Howard must of though she was crazy and why was she asking how Colonel Tavington was doing , what involvement had she had with him . The Dragoon officer just look at unsure and confused of how she even knew him , then it hit him . It was the young captive that had escaped from the British Estate only a few days ago .

" Jessica ?" The man said . Jessica just nodded her head ensuring him that it was her . He said nothing back but just turned his horse and rode back towards the church He wasn't going to tell her .

" Wait ! " Jessica shouted out to him as he rode away .

" Whats going on !? " She shouted out again , still confused as to why Colonel Tavington wanted to speak to everyone in the church . The man stopped his horse to look at her again but ignored her before he proceeded to ride off again he wasn't going to tell Jessica what he himself was planning to do once they had gotten into the church , and what he was going to prove to Colonel Tavington .

"What was that all about Jessica? " Anne asked confused as they got out of the wagon walking over to the church steps . Jessica just looked at her hesitant to tell her what she was going to tell her .

" remember when you asked me if there was any guy I had met yet and I said there was , Well when I was captured and taken to the British Estate I got to know a man there . The Colonel of the British Green Dragoons and he was mean at first but then I met the other side of him I had never seen before , and I have fallen in-love with him Anne " Jessica said quietly , how was Anne going to react that she fell in-love with the enemy .

Anne just nodded her head not sure what to say as they entered the church . Jessica looked around as she saw the many other people who filled the church that looked as confused as them to why they were here .

" Stay close girls " Jessica heard Mrs Howard say from behind them as she gently grabbed onto there arms pulling them closer to her as if they were huddling together .

There backs were all turned to the front of the church until they heard the sound of a horses hooves entering the church walking in front of them " Mother " Anne said tugging her arm in fear making her turn around to see the sight of a Dragoon officer stop in front of them . Jessica turned around to see the man take his helmet off , as he lowered the helmet from his face , she recognized the Bright Blue eyes instantly and he met hers .

" William " Jessica said , with a slight smile stepping towards him as everyone watched .

" Jessica " He said in shock , his faced softened a bit . He wished he could jump of his horse a pick her ip in his arms a shower her with kisses . But instead he stayed sitting tall on his horse .

" Jessica , may I have a word with you? " He asked looking at the unsure Howard's , who looked like they were not about to let Jessica go anywhere near him .

" Of course " Jessica said startling to walk forward until she felt a small bony hand grab her arm pulling her gently back . She turned her head to see Mrs Howard who was the one pulling her back .

" Mrs Howard Please " Jessica said trying to step forward again but was only pulled back once more . Jessica just looked at her trying to reassure her with here eyes that everything was going to be fine .

" Mrs Howard " Jessica said again quietly

" Mother " Anne said quickly gently placing her arm on her arm .

" Anne I Cant let Jessica go , she is under our care and it is out job to protect her " Mrs Howard explained . All three women looked up to hear the voice of Colonel Tavington .

" Im not going to harm or put Jessica in harms way " Tavington assured Mrs Howard . Jessica could feel Mrs Howard's grip soften on her arm , she gave Jessica a slight nod allowing her to go .

" Thank you " Jessica said before her and Tavington made there way outside . Colonel Tavington stopped his horse further away from the church so he and Jessica could have a more private chat together . Tavington swung his leg over his horse dismounting it and standing face to face with Jessica . Before he could even say a word he was shocked to feel Jessica give him a kiss and wrap her arm around his neck and stood up on her tippy toes to reach his lips .

" I missed you " Jessica said as she placed her feet back firmly on the ground from its tippy toe position and placed her arms back to her sides . Tavington Just gave her a smile .

" I have to admit its been rather lonely without you , I've missed you to " He smiled giving her a hug .

* Back to the church *

Wilkins nodded his head to two men who were standing near the church entrance , each of them nodded there heads and started to close the church doors and chain up the handles of the doors .

" Mother whats going on ? " Anne asked frightened " Why are they locking the doors ? ".

" I-I dont know Anne " Mrs Howard said , Mr Howard looked down at his frightened wife and took her hand in his holding on to her hand tightly .

" What is that ! "

" Whats going on ! "

" The church , its on fire ! "

Anne heard people yell from all around her .

" The church is on fire !? " Anne practically screamed ad her mother held her in her arms Annes eyes welled up as she held on to her mother tightly .

' I dont want to die , not now , I cant . I just married the man of my dreams , I cant leave Gabriel behind I wanted a future with him . I wanted to have a family of our own grown old and die old . Not this way ' Anne though to herself as she felt the tears come streaming down her face .

" Everything is going to be alright Anne " Her mother whispered and held her tight Anne could hear the sound and the crackling fire and the smell of the burning church wood . She knew she was going to die , She closed her eyes and tried to block out the sound of the fire her fathers shouting and the peoples screams .

" Whats going on ! ? " Jessica screamed as she saw the church burn brighter with fire engulfing the whole roof of the church and the blood curdling screams from the people inside . Tavington let go of Jessica running towards the church .

" What are you doing , what going on here " Tavington yelled ordering his men to tell him why they felt burning the church was necessary . Wilkins turned around to look at him with almost a proud look on his face .

" I told you myself Colonel , all those who stand against England deserve to die a traders death " Wilkins explained .

" No , not this was Wilkins god damnit ! " Tavington yelled , he turned around to look at the shocked Jessica looking at the burning church . Her eyes scremed with sadness and pain as tears rolled down her face but her face was emotionless with shock .

" Everyone back to the camp , now ! " Tavington yelled angry at Wilkins . There was nothing he could do , it was to late .

as The dragoons began to leave Tavington ran back to Jessica he grabbed onto her shoulders shaking her a bit . " Jessica we have to leave , I'm sorry " he paused " Jessica " he said she looked like she was in a trance until she collapsed to the ground and began to ball her eyes out .

" No , no , no , no , no " Jessica choked through her never ending tear .

" Anne ! " She screamed as she got up and started running towards the church .

" Jessica ! " Tavington yelled as he chased after her .

" Anne ! " She screamed again . Tavington caught up to her taking her arm in his hand he spun her around and pulled her up to his chest , holding her tight .

" There is nothing you can do Jessica " He said holding her tighter , as he kissed her head .

Jessica nuzzled her head in his chest and continued balling her eyes out .


	22. I want to , you want to

Tavington decided that he and his men would camp out not at there original camp , but somewhere not to far from Pembroke . Tavington wanted Jessica to get some rest and relax from her stressful and tearful day . Tavington walked around their little camp out trying to find someone inpraticular to have a little word with .

" Wilkins " Tavington said in a stern voice as he approached him , Wilkins was sitting down near a fire the other men and himself made . Wilkins looked up at Tavington.

"Yes ?" Wilkins said

" a word with you please " Tavington said crossly , waiting for Wilkins to get up and follow him .

" Yes sir " Wilkins answered knowing what Tavington wanted to speak with him about , it was obvious that Tavington was still mad about him setting fire to the church earlier . Wilkins stood up and followed Tavington to a more secluded spot as the other men watched from the fire knowing that Wilkins was going to get what was coming to him . Tavington and Wilkins stopped at a near by tree. Wilkins just looked at Tavingtons face , his eyes were harsh and the look on his face almost looked like he wanted to practically kill someone .

"S-sir?" Wilkins said not sure what Tavington was going to do . in one swift motion Tavingtons fist met with Wilkins face sending him staggering back up against the tree , Wilkins just looked at him shocked with his hand on his throbbing face .

" What was that for? " Wilkins Asked angrily rubbing his sore cheek.

"no ,thats what I should be asking you captain !, now tell me Wilkins . Why did you think it was necessary to burn down that church today ? " Tavington asked angrily .

" Because " Was only wilkins reply , as he looked at Tavington blankly . Tavigtons face screamed anger more that it had before . Tavington took Wilkins jacket in his hands holding him hard up against a tree .

" That's not the answer I'm looking for , now tell me . Why did you burn the church ?" Tavington growled still holding him against the tree

" My answer is , why not . Why shouldn't have I done it Colonel , you are forgetting who is the enemy I told you those who stand against England deserve to die traders death , and they did . You are jut to blinded by love , because you love her don't you . I know you do " Wilkins said smugly , with a slight smirk on his face .

"I do love her Wilkins , but I am not blinded by love . I am well aware of who is the enemy and who isn't " Tavington replied .

" Sure you are . What would Lord Cornwallis think Colonel , I think he would think of you as a trader . If Cornwallis knew about that night you let Jessica and her brother escape , your job would be lost in a blink of an eye " Wilkins said before Tavington pulled him away from the tree pushing him up against the tree harder this time causing Wilkins to let out a grunt . ' How does he know about Gabriel and Jessica's escape ' Tavington thought to himself .

" How do you know about Their escape ? " Tavington asked curiously

" I saw them , I was walking through the gardens with that girl , when I saw that pretty girl of yours and her brother running away ." Wilkins smirk

" Why haven't you said any thing to Cornwallis then? "

" I figured I'll save that information for him later " Wilkins replied rather boldly .

" You will not Captain , now you swear to me that you will divulge nothing to Cornwallis or you will find your self with a bullet through that thick skull of yours before you can even let out a word . I'll tell every one that unfortunately you fell in battle . This job is my life , I have nothing without it do you understand me " Tavington shook him making Wilkins hit his head of the back of the tree . Wilkins just nodded his head over and over again before Tavington finally released him .

" Yes sir " Captain Wilkins said quietly before he walked away joining the other back to the fire .

Tavington just stood by the tree smoothing his hair out with his hand and straightening up his Jacket . He listened closely staring into the dark woods from across a creek , he heard the faint cry of a women from the darkness in-front of him . He started walking dawn a small hill that lead down to the creek he trudged through the water coming up to another small hill . climbing up it he started walking through the dark forest that surrounded him , the women's cry got louder and louder each step he took .

" Jessica ?" He said quietly but there was no reply . Jessica sat alone in the darkness crying to herself . She lifted her head to hear a twig snap in-front of her she placed her hands on the ground from her knees and looked around , she could barley see anything that was in-front of her it was so dark .

" W-william " she sniffled but there was no reply until she saw a dark figure practically jump out in-front of her .Her eyes widened as she let out a scream . Tavington stopped in the woods to hear a scream not to far off .

" Jessica " He whispered to himself as he ran further into the darkness as fast as he could . He panicked as he ran faster and faster to try to find Jessica , what was going on why was she screaming he thought . He stopped to see two figures in-front of him one a girl and the other a man . Jessica let out another scream as the man got closer an closer to her , he placed a hand on her mouth trying to silence her and told her stop screaming as he ran his other hand up her leg . Without a second thought Tavington lunged at the man ripping him away from Jessica . The man staggered back .

" Get away from her !" Tavington Yelled angrily at the man , the man said nothing but just ran away from Tavington and Jessica . Tavington slowly crouched down beside the terrified Jessica he placed his hand on her arm causing her to jump . Jessica lifted her head to see a man in-front of her , she could barley tell who was even in-front of her it was so dark . " Get away from me ! " She screamed as she flailed her arms around .

" Its me Jessica , its me William " Tavington said trying to calm her down. Jessica quickly wrapped her arm around Tavingtons neck hugging him thankful that he was there and to feel some protection in his arms .

" Are you okay? " He asked concerned holding her tight

" Yes , I'm fine . Thank you " Jessica thanked him as she slowly unwrapped her arms from his neck leaning back against the tree , Tavington looked around still crouched down in-front of Jessica .

" Its pretty dark out here for a lady like yourself Jessica , let me take you back " Tavington said holding out his hand to her . Jessica just looked at his hand . she took his hand holding it in hers .

" I dont want to go back , can we just stay here for a while ? " Jessica asked , she wanted to spend as much time alone with Tavington as she could .

" if thats what you want , we'll have to make a little fire , it's a little chilly out and not to mention dark " Tavington said as he started removing his jacket , he handed his red jacket to Jessica for her to wear since she was only wearing a thin purple dress .

" Here take this , you need to stay warm or you'll catch your death my dear " He said as she put the oversized jacket around her and her arms through the sleeves

" Thank you " She said smiling to him .

" Im going to look around for some wood to make a fire , I wont be gone for long . If you need me just yell for me " Tavington said before he gave her a small kiss on her forehead standing up and walking away to find firewood . Jessica just sat alone in the dark keeping her guard up incase that man came back and tried to take advantage of her while William was away .

* later on *

Jessica and Tavington both cuddled up together leaning up against a tree as the sat by their small fire . Jessica put her arm around Tavingtons torso holding him closer to her as she watched the fires flames dance in-front of her . The flames were so beautiful but yet deadly , she diverted her gaze when she started to think about Pembroke's church .

" Anne was Gabriel's Wife , William " Jessica said quietly in sadness . Tavington thought for a moment who she was talking about , but he then remembered Jessica screaming her name when the church was on fire . Anne must of been the girl with her parents and Jessica that he saw when he entered the church .

" She was ? " Tavington said , feeling horrible yet again another person dear to the Martins hearts was dead .

" yes , they were wed only a day ago , it's unfortunate . Her and her parents were lovely people " Jessica said sniffling a bit . " Why were you at Pembroke William ?" Jessica asked curiously . Feeling like if they hadn't of showed up none of what happened would of happened .

" I wanted to find you , I knew that the town was helping your father and the rest of the militia , so I though they might of known your whereabouts " Tavington replied stroking her hair .

" But William , if you found out my whereabout then the other soldiers would have found out , what if they would have hurt my family if they found out where I was " Jessica asked concerned .

" I wouldn't have told them , I would of told them that the People of Pembroke had not divulge any information and i would have found you myself " . Jessica said nothing back but just turned her gaze back to the flames of the fire that seemed to start to die out . Tavington noticed same and started to get up to put another piece of wood on the fire to keep it going . Jessica got removed herself from Tavington so he could get up . She watched as he got up and picked up a piece of wood walking to the fire a placing it among the flames . She looked at the fires glow hit Tavingtons face , and she admired it .

As Tavington turned to go walk back to where Jessica had been sitting , he jumped a bit to see Jessica standing face to face with him . They looked at each other for a moment before their lips locked with one another , Jessica Placed her her hands at the back of his head playing with his hair . Tavington held her waist in his hand pulling her closer to him . The kept kissing until Tavington felt Jessica push against his chest . Tavington sigh and rolled his eyes , when could they ever kiss each other without Jessica stopping them or getting interrupted .

" Jessica " Tavington sighed in an annoyed tone . Before he could say any more Jessica placed a finger up to his lips " Shhh " she shushed him as he dragged her finger down the rest of his face and down to his chest . Tavington just stood in shock when he felt her start to remove his vest . Was she seriously doing this he though to himself .

" Jessica we shouldn't " Tavington said , remembering they were suppose to be enemies

" Yes , I want this " She said quietly you " you want this " she said in a low whisper removing his jacket then moved on to his blouse . Tavington watched as she removed his blouse revealing his chest . Tavington then started Kissing her as he lowered her down to the ground , they both laid on the ground kissing one another . Jessica smiled as she let a moan escape her lips as Tavington gently kissed her neck

" I love you William " Tavington heard Jessica faintly say as he trailed Kisses down her neck .

" I love you too " He whispered in between kisses . Tavington and Jessica kissed and kissed as their love filled night took them away .


	23. Barley Breathing

**A/N: please leave your review I would much appreciate it if you did : ) This is my longest chapter so please enjoy this my lovelies !**

Jessica woke up to the fresh smell of the morning air and the cold damp dewy grass that surrounded her and laid beneath her making her flesh damp and wet . Jessica started to curl up for warmth but stop moving when she felt her naked back press up gently against William Tavington's bare broad chest . A smile formed Jessica's mouth when she soon remembered of the memories from the previous night . Jessica rolled over slowly trying not to disturb William she laid face to face with her lover . She watched as she saw him still peacefully asleep , it had been the first time she had seen him so peaceful before , Jessica leaned towards his face giving the tip of his nose a small kiss causing him to stir . Tavington opened his tired heavy eyes reacting from Jessica's kiss , he smiled as he saw Jessica giving him a sweet smile with her eyes filled with love . He admired her pale face pressed against the ground with the rich dark grass around them .

" Good morning , my love " Tavington said placing his hand on her face stroking her soft cheek with his thumb as he leaned in kissing the brown haired beauty in-front of him that he now claimed to be his . And no one else's

" Good morning darling " Jessica said staring into his bright beautiful blue eyes , Jessica wished her and William could stay laying together in the dewy grass staring in each others eyes forever . Tavington looked around and up at the sky to see it was early morning , Jessica looked behind her to notice she could see some of the dragoon officers sleeping on the ground where the officers had set up camp the other night .

" Do you think they saw us " Jessica nervously laughed looking back at Tavington , Tavington looked over Jessica shoulder to see what she was talking about , He watched as he saw Captain Wilkins turning in his sleep onto his side towards the burning embers of the fire in-front of him .

" I doubt it non of them are awake and they couldn't of seen us last night since it was dark " Tavington said not turning Jessica's face in his hand to his face planting a longs deep kiss on her slightly parted full lips . Tavington pulled away from her lips looking at her one last time before he sat up and reached over to his shirt pulling over his head and onto his body . He started removing the articles of clothing which was the only thing they had to cover themselves with from the cold night .

" What are you doing " Jessica said in dissapointment at the sight of Tavington starting to pull on his black pants . She didn't want the moment to end , she didn't want him to leave her just yet .

" Getting ready , I want the two of us to be up and clothed . The other men will be waking up soon and I dont want them to see us like this . They already are probably wonder and are going to question where we were last night , and what we did . That's our secret " Tavington smiled as he was almost fully dressed in all of his clothing except for his coat that still laid across Jessica's body .

" No" Jessica wined as she pulled Tavington's arm , before he stood up pulling him back down towards her . Tavington playfully climbed on-top of her hovering over top of her pushing her hair out of her face .

" God , you are so beautiful " Tavington purred as he kissed her face all the way down to her neck and up to her ear nibbling on her ear gently tickling her skin .

" Ah ! " Jessica squealed at the touch at Tavington playing with her sensitive skin sending her into a fit of laughter as she squirmed beneath him . He finally stopped tickling her to look at her with a smile on his face .

" All right the fun's over darling " He said kissing her forehead before he got up from Jessica's body standing up stretching his sore muscles from the hard ground that they slept on together . Jessica herself decided she should probably get up as-well along with Tavington . Jessica looked over to see some of the Dragoon officers starting to stir , and they had to be dressed before they woke up well at least she had to , Tavington already was dressed in his boots , shirt , pants and was now fixed his hair that was out of place with pieces of brown hair that laid at his shoulders .

" Can you pass me my dress please? " Jessica asked Tavington who was smoothing out his hair he stopped to see a thin purple dress that laid near his feet , he bent down to get . Picking it up in his hand he tossed the dress over to Jessica waiting to catch the dress with her arms out waiting for his to throw it to her .

" Thank you " she said , Tavington turned around to see Jessica starting to remove his jacket that laid across her stil . He turned around to give her some privacy as a gentleman would as she changed into her dress . When he finished fixing himself up with his hair queued back , he turned around to see Jessica fully dressed .

" Here's your jacket " Jessica said handing it to Tavington , he took the jacket in his hand then proceeded to put on the jacket to complete is attire . As Jessica combed through her hair with her fingers Tavington notice a familiar cameo necklace that laid on her chest .

" You still have that silly thing I gave you " Tavington chuckled with a smile across his face , feeling happy inside that even when Jessica left him the night of the ball she never took of the necklace he gave her , she still cared for him even then .

" Yes , and its not silly . You gave it to me , and that's something I treasure and its something I remembered you by when I left you , it was the closest thing I had to you " Jessica smiled as she looked down at the necklace that was in between her two fingers holding the necklace up to her view . Jessica looked up to see Tavington walk up to her taking his hand and placing them gently on her face cupping her cheeks in his hands

" Don't take it off , promise me you will keep it even if " Tavington paused .

" Even if what William? " Jessica asked

" Jessica , this war . We just don't know , I mean when a man leaves home to go to war there is a good chance that man isn't coming back , it almost a miracle . And if I am to die , i want you to keep that necklace I gave you to remember me by and don't you take it off . promise me ? " Tavington asked Jessica in a serious tone of voice , he knew he wasn't planning on dieing any-time soon , but like he said there is a good chance he may not live through this war . He could leave Jessica behind at any-time .

" Don't even say that , you are going to get through this war alive William and when you do , we will be together . Promise me that at least " Jessica said wrapping her arms around Tavington as he wrapped his arms around her stroking her hair of the back of her head .

" I promise , we'll be together I'll survive through the war and then when the war is over we can start a new life together " Tavington whispered , he let go of her embrace stepping back a bit to notice some of the men from across from Jessica and himself at the other side of the creek beginning to get up and start getting ready for the new day ahead of them . Jessica and Tavington decided to head back towards the other side of the creek leaving behind the burning embers of their fire behind them.

Tavington was crouched down onto a rock that rested in the creek with the creeks water surrounded with Tavington on-top of it with with a razor in hand a small tin cup tapping of his razor on the rim of the small cup . He looked at himself in a tiny compact mirror as he shaved the stubble off of his face with precision . As he shaved he suddenly felt someone come from behind him jumping on his back nearly sending him into the creek and nearly cutting his face with his razor .

" Jessica , please be careful . I nearly cut myself with my razor " Tavington scolded her but stopped to see the sorry look on his face . " I wouldn't have wanted to cut you with this , i would feel terrible " He said holding up his razor showing her how sharp it was .

" I'm sorry I was just trying to surprise you " Jessica apologized giving him a kiss on his newly shaved soft skin .

" I know , and surprise me you did " He said splashing Jessica suddenly with a splash of cool water on her face . Jessica just giggled as she stood their with the cool fresh water dripping down her face .

" Were square now " Tavington smiled as he once again held the little mirror and razor up to his face continuing to shave his face . Jessica pulled her dress up a bit to step into the water in front of her cooling of her feet as she sat down on a rock watching Tavington shave the rest of his face .

From behind a tree just a little way away from where Tavington and Jessica were , Captain Wilkins watched as Tavington shaved and Jessica just watched . Captain Wilkins was interrupted by the sound of Captain Borden come up from behind him .

" What are you doing Wilkins? " Borden asked the lurking Wilkins , curious to what exactly he was doing .

" Them . Can you believe it Borden , last night I found that Jessica curled up crying in the forest all by herself don't know why though . I didn't really care either to why she was crying , I figured while I was at it I might of well take advantage of her . Its not every day we have a women among us , so why take the advantage to take _advantage _of her lightly " Wilkins smiled to himself " I didn't get much though just a little touch of the leg before she started screaming and before Colonel Tavington pulled me away from her , thank god he didn't see it was me " Wilkins finished as he turned around and started to walk away .

Borden just shook his head . " you never know captain Wilkins someone could let it slip , that you were the one who tried to _rape _that poor girl " Borden smiled , threatening Wilkins . he didn't like Captain Wilkins much and he would take the first chance he got to tell the Colonel that it had Been Wilkins who attacked Jessica .

Captain Wilkins stopped walking to turn around and walk back up towards Captain Borden.

" Don't you dare tell him , come on captain you know you would have done it too if you had the chance any of the men would have " Wilkins argued with Borden .

" Captain Wilkins I believe that Lieutenant Conry over their has a wife and three children and I myself having a wife and a child of my own . Men like us have dignity and respect , something you could learn from us " Borden sneered as he walked passed Wilkins bumping into his shoulder hard as he walked past him .

Jessica still sat beside Tavington kicking the water up in-front of her she began to start to say something until Tavington cut her off raising a hand toward her silencing her .

" Stop Jessica , listen for a second " Tavington said as the both listen carefully until they heard the sounds of horse hooves , horse whines and the sound of captain Borden yelling

" To arms , to arms ! "

" Dammit , were being attacked , Jessica I need you to stay her and don't you move ! " Tavington ordered Jessica before she tried to get up as he dropped his razor and was about to run before he felt the small hand of Jessica grab onto his jacket sleeve .

" William , no what if you get hurt ! " Jessica said in concern scared for Tavington's life , she didn't want this to be last time she would ever see him before he would end up dead . After all this she couldn't stand the thought of him being dead , and her being alone living without him .

" Jessica , please . Just stay here I wont ask you again ! " Tavington said to her before he ran away from her heading towards his horse to get his pistol and sword ready to fight on his enemies . Jessica just sat up against the little hill at the side of the creek that blocked her view to what was going on behind her with every shot she heard she felt herself jump , scared that every shot she heard was perhaps the one that had ended Williams life . She couldn't take the suspense any-more she had to know he was al-right .

As she took a deep breath she began to peer over the top of the little hill to see the battle scene that played out in-front of her , her eyes widened to see that her father and Gabriel had joined in on the fight as-well , not only did she fear for Williams life , but she feared for her own fathers and brothers as-well . The outcome would end in only in a few ways . Her brother and father could die , and because they are enemies of Tavington they would try to kill him and it would result in the death of Tavington . Without a second thought Jessica ran over the hill and near the battle , practically throwing herself into the fight . Tavington noticed Jessica and quickly reacted to her presence .

" Jessica , what do you think you are doing , I told you to stay put ! " He yelled scared for Jessica's life now . Once Gabriel and Benjamin Martin hear Jessica's name the stopped immediately called of their men to stop fighting , William did the same with his men they all stopped to look at Jessica who stood in the middle of them all , as they all lowered their weapons but did not put them away just in-case the fight was to spark up again , then they would be ready for action .

" Jessica , we thought you were dead " Benjamin said standing in disbelief and relieved to see that his daughter was alive . Jessica just nodded her head . She noticed Gabriel's face beside her fathers full with hate , hate that was driving him to kill everything in his path , avenging the death of his wife Anne .

" Jessica get away from them ! , get away " Gabriel yelled loosing his temper . fed up with Jessica getting involved with the Dragoons . This time he wanted her to come back with the militia and stay with the militia and away from any involvement with the British .

" No " Jessica said quietly .

" What did you say " Benjamin Martin said angrily , dissapointed in his daughter .

" No , it wasn't him who did it ! "

" That's it I've had it with all of this , his life ends Jessica ! " Gabriel Yelled raising his gun to shoot Tavington , All the Dragoons ready themselves with their pistols , if Gabriel was to kill Colonel Tavington they would kill him . Jessica suddenly ran in-front of Tavington standing face to face with him with her arm wrapping around his neck closing her eyes she heard a gun shot from behind her go off . But it had not been Gabriel's Pistol it was a militia man who was not to far off hiding behind a tree with his musket poking out around the tree . But the Militia man had missed the person he intended to shoot .

Jessica's mouth opened wide and she took in a deep intake of breath from the feeling of the bullet that now pierced through her back .

" No ! " Benjamin Martin screamed . It felt like everything was in slow motion to Jessica the surrounding around her went hazy and the pain in her back could hardly allowed her to breath it felt like the wind was knocked right out of her . Tavington looked in shock with his eyes wide in horror of the sight of Jessica's velvet Blue eyes stare into his .

" Oh god , oh god " Jessica managed to say as the pain spread out through her back and her blood trickling out of her wound . She felt weak in the knees , finding it hard to stand . She finally collapsed in Williams arms as Gabriel and Benjamin rushed to her side , with Jessica in William shaking arms .


	24. The Fate Of Tomorrow

Jessica felt herself lay heavy in Tavington's strong shaking arms that wrapped around her holding her up close to his chest . Jessica looked around her surrounding to see her father and Gabriel huddle close to Jessica , and Tavington with worried looks on all of their faces . Jessica could almost sigh in relief to see that Gabriel her father and Tavington were so close together it was her first time ever seeing them so close to each other without wanting to kill one another . But Jessica knew they were only behaving for her sake only . Jessica moved her gaze slowly over to a militia man who turned out to be the reverend , removing his hat from his head and held it close to his chest , over his heart like he was mourning a death . Jessica's heart beat frantically when the thought of herself dead popped up in her head . She tightened her grip on to Tavington's jacket trying to pull him in closer to her to try to take away the fear that was building up inside of her .

Jessica's mouth went dry when she began to speak

" William I'm so scared " Jessica managed to say with a shaky voice filled with pain and fear . She felt her eyes began to well up from the mixture of fear and pain she was feeling . She could feel herself getting weaker and weaker , not sure if she was going to become unconscious or dead .

" Shhh " He hushed her placing a hand on her face brushing his thumb across her bottom lips then traced his thumb along her jaw , trying to settle her down . Benjamin Martin and Gabriel cringed at the sight of Tavington touching Jessica's face ever so gently .

" You need not speak , Jessica it will only make it worse . " Tavington said in a calm voice almost ordering her not to speak any further than she had . Jessica swallowed hard as tears began to release from her eyes , rolling down her cheek . The rest of the Dragoon officers and Militia men just watched without harming one another as they watched the scene in-front of them .

" Hold me closer to you , please I -"

" Jessica don't talk , don't talk " Jessica heard her father interrupted her , he didn't want her to speak any further for it would make her situation worse and make her weak . And he secretly didn't want Jessica asking for Tavington to give her so much comfort , that was his job not the Colonels. Jessica's breathing became ragged and intensified with every breath she took .

" We need to take her back to our camp to get her tended to . " Gabriel said concerned and scared when he noticed Jessica becoming weaker and her breathing heavy and short .

" I can take her our camp is not to far off " Tavington said eagerly to Benjamin Martin wanting to desperately help Jessica .

" Nor ours Colonel , please you have done enough ." Benjamin said starting to take Jessica's body out of Tavington arms and into his . Jessica looked into Tavington's frosty eyes through her half closed eyes almost fully closing with unconsciousness from the pain and weakness that still ran through her body , not planning to leave any-time soon while the bullet was still lodged in her back . Tavington just nodded his head handing Jessica over to his enemy knowing he could trust her care in them more then himself . Jessica extended her shaking hand weakly to Tavington , he grabbed her hand quickly giving it a squeeze comforting her , before Benjamin Martin turned walking away from Tavington with Jessica along with him .

Gabriel was left standing near Tavington face to face , Gabriel nodded his head to him in a truce . Tavington just slightly nodded back .

" We'll let you leave here alive , and unharmed . But just this once do you understand me , I will avenge my wife's death the next time I see you and the rest off your men , but as for now I will let you go " Gabriel growled furiously through unclenched teeth , as his face reddened with anger .

" I shall remember that for the next time we run into you , I will not take my fury on you lightly as-well " Tavington threatened Gabriel back .

" You and your men leave , before I changed my mind " Gabriel said to Tavington one last time before he turned on his heal and walk away from Tavington to join his sister and father .

Benjamin martin mounted his horse with Jessica sitting on top of his lap and her head resting on his shoulder .

" William " Jessica whispered in a low voice as if she was trying to call out to him but the weakness in her took over her from being able to project her voice .

" Be quite now Jessica " Her father said taking the reins of his horse " I don't think you will be seeing him ever again " he said quietly to himself before he and his men rode away on horse back as their horses galloped away leaving the Dragoons behind them . Benjamin Martin knew there was going to be a battle the following day one that would alter the course of the war . And he knew he was going to keep his word and Kill Tavington before the war was over .

Jessica steadily awoke from someone rustling the tent flaps , she observed her surroundings for a moment to notice that she was laying on a bedroll inside of a tent that was only illuminated from a few candles that sat atop of a wooden table in front of her on the other side of the tent other than that the tent had been pretty much empty . She looked over to notice a person walk into the tent with some food , it was her father . _This is odd what is my father doing here , and where exactly am I ? _Jessica questioned her hazy confused mind .

" You're awake I see , how is your wound doing " Benjamin Martin asked standing a few feet away from her pointing to her torso . Jessica looked down confused to what he was talking about . Jessica saw that just under her ribs she had been wrapped up with a white bandage . It all started to come back to Jessica , she remembered that she had been shot earlier that day and was taken back with the Militia to the American camp .

" Fine , I suspect " Jessica said trying to prop herself up a bit but then stopped to feel her back stiffen with pain .

" Ah !" Jessica suddenly winced in pain , her father rushed to her side to help her lean back down slowly , trying not to cause any-more damage to her back them the bullet had done .

" Lay down slowly ... there you go , easy now" Benjamin said calmly to his daughter slowly lowering her back down onto the bedroll beneath her .

" How long have I been asleep for? " Jessica ask as she started to rub her throbbing head with her right hand , the started to message her temples hoping it would relieve a bit of her splitting head-ache . After she had been shot everything in her body just felt weak and sore .

" Well night has arrived so I would say , a good twelve or thirteen hours " Benjamin said placing her food down beside her that had a piece of bread and meat that laid across the plate , Jessica could smell the foods aroma and felt her stomach growl , but the pain in her back and her head-ache made her loose her appetite .

" I'm not very hungry father , i'm afraid the pain is just making me loose my appetite " Jessica said , feeling a bit bad to turn down the food her father had made for her , she would eat , but she was in no condition to or mood at the moment .

" And I'm afraid you need to , you need all the energy you can get . Eating and rest is what is going to help you heal " Her father assured her , as he took a piece of bread holding it up to her to grab out of his hand . Jessica did so , taking a small bite out of the brown bread . It was more on the stale side , but what could she expect they weren't at home and it was no fancy dinner meal like she had , had at the British estate . She placed the piece of bread on the plate and moved on to the hot piece of meat that lay in-front of her . _Maybe the meat would be better than the bread _she though to herself as she put the piece of meat in her mouth . But no luck the meat was chewy and it took her a number of chews just to grind up the meat in her mouth and swallow it . But non the less she needed her energy and the food was going to help her get it , it was better than nothing at least .

" I'll let you finish your food , I will be back with some blankets for you . After your meal try to get some more rest " Benjamin Martin said as he stood up and left Jessica behind to finish her food . Once Jessica had finished her meal leaving a few left overs behind , her father returned to her with a few blankets he found .

" Here , this should keep you comfterable warm through the night , if you need any more witch I doubt you will just call me and I will be over with some more for you . There are plenty left with more casualties comes more supplies . " He said laying the blankets across her then tucking her in with the blankets tucked into her side , legs , arms and feet she felt like she was a catipillar in a warm cocoon .

" Thank you " Jessica said as her father gave her a kiss on the forehead , he was thankful and thanked god that His daughter had survived , unlike his son Thomas who unfourtunetly died by a gunshot the same fate Jessica could have died by. Fourtunetly Jessica's outcome had not been the same as Thomas's Benjamin didn't know what he would do without another child , the death of his son had caused his heart to break already . Having another child dead would have smashed his heart into a million pieces completely . Benjamin just smiled warmly at his daughter . But then his face changed to sadness and seriousness when he soon remembered that there was a battle coming up the next day , and a large one at that . This would not be some ambush that would cause a few casualties this would be a head to head battle and many people would be lost to the war and he prayed himself and Gabriel would not be one of them .

" What's wrong father , you seem upset about something ?" Jessica asked in concern that so fast that her fathers smiling face had turned into a grim saddened face so insistently .

" There's going to be a battle tomorrow Jessica , a big one . One that will alter the course of the war quite dramatically possibly . And , well I'm just a little scared that's all " He laughed nervously " it's funny to think of an old man like me being so scared of a battle " Benjamin Martin laughed again trying to change the mood but failed . Jessica face was blank with sadness that filled her eyes , she could feel her eyes start to well up . It saddened her to see her father scared , she new this could be one of the last times she would see her father and Brother... And it may had already been her last time seeing William Tavington as-well .

Jessica put out her arms to wrap them around her fathers neck pulling him in close she began to cry , she had seen her father was trying to change the mood by laughing his fear off . And she tried to keep that failed up-beat moment going but now had failed by starting to cry with her head buried in his shoulder holding on to him tightly . Benjamin just slowly started to lift her up a bit from the bedroll so that she was in a sitting position in his arms . As he felt her lift her up , her back felt like her wound was tearing apart with pain . But she tried ignoring it so she could be held in her fathers arms , and just cried harder instead to cover up the pain she felt so her father thought she was just crying harder because of the though of his going to war . But once she was sitting up she started to cry even harder _for _the thought of all three of her loved ones going to possibly one of the biggest battles of their lives , and could be the last battle of their lives .

Tavington and the rest of the Dragoons had just arrived back t the british camp , and Tavington decided he would go to bed straight away . He knew there was going to be a battle the next day , and he wanted to get to bed early knowing it would be harder for him to go to sleep that night . With his thoughts running through his head about Jessica's well being and whether he was going to live or not the following day . Every battle he had gone to he had been rarely nervous . But now he was , not because of his life and death situation but because of Jessica after all they had been through he didn't want to leave her , he intended to keep his promise he made her and return to her and start a new life together . Tavington entered his tent and immediately started to remove his jacket boots and un-queue his hair .Tavington undressed so he was only in his baggy blouse , he decided he was going to get some rest . Tavington laid down on his bedroll and covered himself with his blankets trying to get as comfterable as he could . Tavington closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep but an hour or so later he still found himself awake . He rolled onto his back looking up at the tents ceiling and began to think of what his life after the war would be like .

_What is my life going to be like after this war anyway , or am I even going to have life after the war . That depends on if I even live or not . My whole life had been such an odd chaos , Father had been possibly the worst father figure anyone could have I was only left with Mother to take care of me until she died when I was eighteen . Maybe thats what tipped off my father , my mothers death . He hadn't been that all terrible when she was alive but he sure showed his terrible side after she had passed . He squandered all my inheritance I possibly had , gambling buying booze , whoring and such . Now I am left with nothing since he himself had passed only a few years ago . Now I am stuck here with nothing . Well Fortune wise , perhaps maybe thats why I am the way I am . Such a Brutal Brute , but I feel like I have changed in some sort of way , after I met Jessica I feel that she had melted that ice that covered my heart and soul from any Love and feelings . The only thing I am left with now Is Jessica , but that all depends on tomorrow of course . I could die , and leave every thing I know Behind me . Or I could Live and try to Start a new life for myself with Jessica ... Or maybe nothing will change , I would live , Jessica could find someone else who could start a better life for her some one who has a stable life . And I could just be left alone with me an my poor fortune . I will Never know Until the new day of tomorrow arrives ._


	25. Enemy Territory

Jessica awoke , opening her eyes she look around the dark tent only illuminated from the bright moon light that peeked through the slight opening of the tent flaps , Jessica laid on her bed roll inhaled deeply and exhaled into the summer night air that mixed with the tents stale smelling air . Everything was quite , there was no rustling of someone from the outside . Just the sound of the crickets that filled the space of silence . There was no better time to do what Jessica had been planning in those few seconds she lied awake .

With one last intake of air she held her breath as she quickly got up from her bedroll in a sitting position , she quickly froze gasping a bit from he pain that ripped through her back . She knew she wasn't well rested and healed from what she was going to try to do , but she had to try . Getting up to her feet she straightened out her hair and dress , as she stared through the tent flaps tiny opening . With her one eye closed she looked around to see if anyone had been walking a-stray in the night . No one was there from what she could tell , and from what she could hear . And she could not waist anymore time , she had to leave . She was not going to leave William Tavington wondering to himself if Jessica had Lived or not from the incident she endured earlier that day . And she wanted to see Tavington before the battle the next day , since it may be her last .

Jessica slowly slipped out of her tent tip toeing through the American camp , making as little noise as possible . If she was caught there was no chance at all of her being able to see William . As Jessica tiptoed further through the camp she found what she was searching for , There in-front of her were two brown horses tied up to a large tree . Jessica quickly approached the horse , the horse seemed restless and began to move its head up an down giving a few faint whines .

" Shh , shh . It's all right " Jessica said quickly clamping her hand gently around the horses mouth and then gently and softly moved her hand up and down the horses nose , trying to calm it down . The horse had calmed and Jessica then quickly un-knotted the horses reins off of the tree , The other horse just ate quietly chewing on the grass below its hooves .

Jessica lowered the stirrups threw the reins over the horses head and adjusted the saddle of the horse before she mounted it , as she threw her leg over the horse she felt the same tearing feeling of pain in her lower back , she tried to quickly ignore her wound as she took in a deep breath and quietly clicked her tongue giving the sides of the horse a gentle tap , starting the horse into a walk , she wasn't going to take off with the horse stupidly getting herself caught from the sound of the horses hooves hitting the ground .

The horse made its way slowly through the camp , when the horse was finally a little ways away from the camp , Jessica turned her head and looked over to the camp looking one last time if anybody had been there as she scanned her eyes she saw no one . With another click of her tongue and a harder squeeze to the horses side she was in a full gallop and was on her way to the British camp .

Jessica Stopped her horse practically in tears from the pain that was spreading through her back the bumpy ride hurt her lower back where she had been shot , She slowly but surly dismounted the horse . Taking cation of her wound with each move she made . Her painful ride better had be worth the visit , but she was sure it would be . Jessica tied up her horse to a tree in a heavy wooded forest not to far off from the british camp . After she had been done tying up her horse . She turned around to endure the sight of the many tents that were a little ways away from her , she was now in enemy territory . As much as Jessica needed to see William , it was also dangerous , and perhaps foolish of her to even go there . But she knew she had to , she wanted to let William know she was alright before the battle the next day . Inhaling and exhaling , Jessica started to walk towards the camp , but with stealth .

Jessica firmly took her first step that entered the camp , she looked around her , scared to see if she would be running into an officer . As Jessica walked further and further into the camp , and hid behind tents occasionally to check if anyone was around her . She thought to herself for a moment ' Wait now that I'm here how exactly am I suppose to find out which tent Tavington may be in ' Jessica looked around at some if the clothes trying to see if she could spot Tavington's , but them stupidly realized that all the uniforms are the same and that she would never be able to tell what tent was his . She sighed to herself in disappointment . ' it was foolish of me to come here , what was I even thinking ' She thought but then stop thinking to see a familiar horse that had been tied up at a tree near the last tent at the end of the right row of tents beside her , She still had a little way to go to get to the last tent and she prayed as she made her way down to the last tent that she would not get caught .

She was close now , she was getting closer to the tent . She wasn't sure if that was Tavington's horse that was standing up tied up to the tree , but it had perked up its head and ears seeming to have recognized her . ' almost there ' she thought to herself relieved as her heart beat frantically , with intenseness and fear . Scared that any moment she could be caught .

Jessica's heart skipped a beat in fear and she jumped to feel a hand grab on to her shoulder forcefully whipping her around , so that she was face to face with a tall man . " I knew it would only be a matter of time until you would sneak your way over to see Colonel Tavington " Captain Wilkins said , looking down into Jessica terrified looking eyes , that looked glossy from her tears that were now forming in her eyes from the fear and intensity .

"I'm not sneaking " Jessica said sharply in defence , trying to hide her fear but miserably failed .

" Then what would you call it , i'm pretty sure walking through an enemies camp in the middle of the night , hiding around tents and sneaking your way down to Colonel Tavington's tent is sneaking . Wouldn't you think . " Wilkins said coyly with a smirk on his face . Jessica didn't answer but just continued to stare at him with fear with her still in his grasps . Jessica tried to wrench her arm out of his grip and tried to run away , but only felt Wilkins grip tighten around her and pull her back up towards him .

" And where exactly would you be off to if I let you go , you have no where to go . One wrong move with me and I'll wake everyone up in this whole camp , you listen to me !" Wilkins snapped . " I'm going to finish what I started that night in the forest and you are not going to resist me " Wilkins said sternly . Jessica just looked at him confused .

" Finish what you started ? " Jessica asked , her eye's then widened in horror as it clicked in to what he had said , and what he wanted out of her .

" You , it was you that night in the forest . You were the one who had attacked me ! " Jessica said trying not to raise her voice to loud in anger . Wilkins just smiled and nodded his head before he started to walk off with Jessica's arms still in his hand .

" No , no please don't . I know what you are thinking but please dot ! " Jessica said in a panic as her heart beat in her chest hard .

" No you are going to learn a lesson , you should have not gotten involved in the enemy and this is the lesson you will learn . And don't think of fighting me , do as your told and you wont be hurt ."

" No please , I'll be on my way . I wot come back here , just please don't " Jessica begged a he dragged her into the near by forest dragging her right past the tent that could have possibly been Tavington's , Jessica wanted to scream out to him to help her , but she knew she couldn't . With each time she tried to pull away from Wilkins grasp he held on to her arm tighter and tighter , so hard that she wanted to scream out in pain . She could already feel that bruises that were forming on her arms from his fingers digging hard into her arm , through the thin fabric of her dress .

" Please , please no . I'll do anything " Jessica pleaded as she stood face to face with Wilkins in the heavy wooded forest with tears that now welled up in her eyes .

" Thats right you will you will do anything , anything I tell you to do " Wilkins chuckled holding her wrists that she had up against her chest guarding herself . As he held on to them tightly causing her not to move her arms .

"let me go ! " Jessica said a little louder that she should have , Wilkins looked back at the camp to see if anyone had reacted to the sound of her voice , but noticed no-one was around . Wilkins turned his head to see Jessica trying to remove her wrist from his grasps and noticed her knee beginning to rise up to knee his groin area . Wilkins quickly reacted and took his hand off of her wrist to smack her hard across her face . Jessica fell to the ground from the force of his hand that hit her face , She looked down to the ground not facing Wilkins she placed her hand on her sore cheek and felt her wet tears streaming down her face .

While Jessica had been down on the ground , Wilkins quickly got down to her level and hovered over top of her , he flipped her over on her back hard , she let out a gasp and a faint cry to feel pain spread out through her back .

" Oww ! , Please stop please ! " Jessica practically screamed beneath him in pain and fear as her face was soaked with tears .

" Shut up ! " Wilkins said as he placed a hand over her mouth , and held her one arm tightly against the ground beneath them . Jessica wished that anyone could come and help her from the Captain , but no one was coming to her rescue . Jessica could now feel Wilkins starting to pull at the buttons at the top of her dress , revealing her cleavage . Wilkins started to pull the shoulder of her dress down further and further until Wilkins suddenly felt Jessica's knee finally meet with his groin and hard .

Wilkins let out a large grunt and went to move his hand down to his groin , but instead of tending to his pain stricken area . He decided to strike Jessica again in his anger . Jessica's eye's widened in horror at the sight of Wilkins raising his hand to hit her and just closed her eyes waiting for the pain to start .

" you bitch ! " Wilkins growled as he slapped her hard across the face , harder than he had the last time . Jessica cried out in pain , her face was hot and stung from his hand meeting her face . Jessica tried comforting her face trying to take a bit of the pain away from Wilkins striking her , but Wilkins just grabbed her arm and pinned it down to the ground and dug his nails into her forearm .

A man pushed open the flaps of the tent and inhaled , filling his lungs with the fresh summer air . He looked around for a moment before he proceeded to walk towards the forest from his tent to relive himself . As he entered the dark forest , he stopped by a tree . Un-buttoning the button on his breeches he stopped a moment to hear a few faint whimpers not to far from where he was standing . He listened carefully to hear if he could hear the faint whimpering again but could hear not and just ignored the sound .

As the man was about to relieve himself he stopped again this time to hear a small scream , it was a women's scream . The man quickly buttoned up his breeches and walked around the forest to investigate the scream he had heard .

" Why are you doing this to me , why ? " Jessica cried as her tears still streamed down her face .

" I told you this is your lesson , you wanted to get involved with the enemy . Well you are getting what you want " Wilkins said as he further tried to remove Jessica's dress . Jessica tried to fight back Wilkins attempts , but she felt weak from trying to fight him off . Captain Wilkins dug his nails into her arm harder , Jessica cried out in pain as she could feel his nails break into her skin and could feel her own blood of her forearm running down her arm and into the green grass below her turning the grasses green blades red .

Wilkins went to raise his arm once more to hit her but , a familiar man grabbed tightly onto his wrist before he could hurt Jessica any further . Wilkins turned around to see who it was who had stopped him , but only saw a dark figure before everything went black . The man had punched Wilkins straight in the face causing his to collapse unconscious on Jessica . Jessica let out a large sigh of relief , the pain and fear was finally over . someone had come to save her .

Jessica weakly started to push and wiggle herself away from Wilkins body , leaving him face down on the grass . Jessica saw the dark figure extend a hand towards her , Jessica took his hand in her as the man helped her stand up from the ground .

" Miss Martin are you alright , it's me Lieutenant Emerson Adams " Emerson said in concern as he placed both of his hand on her face and pushed the few strands that lay across her face , away from her face .

" Luitenant , oh thank god its you . Thank you " Jessica said as she gave the Lieutenant a large hug and just rested her head on his shoulder , Lieutenant Adams just rubbed her back comforting her as she cried in his arms .

" Why are you all the way out here any-way Miss Martin , it's far to dangerous here for you " Emerson said as he escorted Jessica out of the forest , leaving Captain Wilkins behind .

" I'm here to see Colonel Tavington Lieutenant , and I was wondering if you would bring me to him ?" Jessica explained as they entered the clearing of the forest back to the British camp filled with a sea of white tents .

" Miss I'm afraid I can not do as you ask , You shouldn't be here and I don't think speaking with the Colonel would be the best idea . You see if the Colonel is caught speaking to you it would result in the Colonel possibly loosing his position or even job Miss . You're the enemy . So I suggest you take your horse and leave as fast as you can , you have gotten into enough trouble for one night . " Emerson said as they strolled down the rows of tents .

" Please Lieutenant Adams , I know the risks but I need to see him . Please you understand " Jessica said as she stopped walking to face the Lieutenant .

" Actually I'm Afraid I don't Miss " Emerson said as he himself stopped to face Jessica .

" Love Lieutenant "

"Love ?"

" Yes , Love , Me and the Colonel Have fallen in love " Jessica blurted out without thinking , Emerson could tell someone about Herself and the Colonel , or even worse he could tell Cornwallis god forbid . But Jessica trusted Emerson .

" But Miss , love , I mean You and him are the enemy . How ? You know how dangerous such a bond can be between you two " Emerson protested to Jessica who just crossed her arms in-front of her chest .

" Please Lieutenant , show me where he is ." Jessica said ignoring his comment , she was tiered and scared to wait any longer to see William .

Emerson just sighed and took in a deep breath before continuing .

" Fine , but if you get caught I have no involvement with this what so ever Miss Martin . " He said in a serious tone . Jessica just nodded her head in agreement .

" Second last tent on the right "

Jessica quietly arrived to a larger tent , second last to the right like Lieutenant Adams said . She paused for a moment before she proceeded to open the tent to peak inside . She Just stared at the Tent opening for a while before entering . What if it wasn't the right tent , what if she entered the tent and it wasn't Tavington . It would be all over for her . She then just stood up straight and prepared herself from the outcome whether it was going to be good or bad . Slowly Jessica opened the tent flaps letting the moon light pour into the tent . Jessica squinted her eye's to get a better look as to who was lying on the bedroll in-front of her . She opened the tent flap a little more to let more of the moons light to reveal the face of the man . There lying in the bed in-front of her was Colonel Tavington . Jessica's heart leaped in her chest with excitement . Looking back once to see if anyone was watching Jessica saw no-one . Turning her head to back inside of the tent she slipped inside .

Jessica tiptoed over to the sleeping Tavington who laid peacefully on his bedroll. Jessica walked over to the side of the bedroll , Then plopped firmly down on the Bedroll beside William . Jessica leaned down to Tavington forehead placing a small kiss on his head , causing him to stir . Jessica sat back up straight away from him to see Wiliam's eyes begin to open . It took him only a few seconds to notice who the girl was in-front of him . Without another second Tavington sat up in a sitting position , sitting face to face with Jessica . Jessica went to kiss him but stopped surprised to hear him speak before she could kiss him .

" What are you doing here , you need to leave " Tavington asked in a concerned Serious tone . Jessica was taken a-back by his comment , she thought he would be happy to even see her alive .

" What , I've come to see you . are you not glad to see me William " Jessica asked back in a serious tone that matched his . William just gave a slight smile when he noticed he was being a little rude , after all he had been scared to death about her .

" Of course I am , I'm happy to see that you are alive and well from your incident earlier from today , you had me worried " Tavington said lifting his arm , placing his hand on her face to rub her cheek with his thumb Jessica lifted her hand and placed it on his . Jessica noticed Tavington freeze when he noticed the nail marks and dried blood on her forearm . Jessica tried to quickly move her arm from his sight but he caught her arm and held her arm closer to his view .

"What happened to you Jessica ?" Tavington asked in concern as he examined her arm closer running his fingers over the deep nail marks and blood .

" It's nothing really , I just cut myself by accident " Jessica lied as she tried taking her arm once more out of Williams grasp , But Tavington just held her arm tighter not letting her move it .

"Don't lie to me , what happened . These don't look like cut marks to me " Tavington said sternly finally letting jessica place both of her hand on her lap and her arm from his sight . Jessica just sat in silence for a while , She had to tell William what happened earlier . He wasn't believing what she was saying , she had to tell him the truth . But she was afraid it would cause trouble .

"Wilkins , Captain Wilkins he tried to take advantage of me , he hit me a few times and dug his nails into my arm until my arm was bleeding " Jessica said quietly , not making any eye contact with William and just stared at her lap .

" Bastard ! , see what I mean . You need to leave here Jessica , you shouldn't be here . All of this should of never happened Tavington said now getting up from his bedroll pacing around a bit . Jessica stood up to face him , placing her hand on his arm to stop him from his pacing to stop and look at her.

" What should of never happened , and what do you mean all of this . Do you mean us , after all we have been through ? " Jessica asked confused .

" No , no I don't mean that Jessica , I mean you coming here tonight , look where coming here has gotten you it was very foolish of you " Tavington said in a slight sneer , Jessica wasn't amused by his tone of voice .

"Foolish ? , is that what you think of me for coming here to show you that I was alright so you wouldn't have to worry , i know there is going to be a big battle tomorrow as-well , my father told me . And I want to see you in case it was the last time I would ever get to see you . Like you said this is war and we just don't know what could happen William ! " Jessica said raising her voice a little and held herself back from crying .

" Listen Jessica " William said placing both of his hand on her shoulders , looking straight into her eyes that were now welling up with tears . He felt horrible for making her upset but she needed to leave before anything worse would happen to her .

" This wont be the last time you see me , I promise I will survive for you and I will find you after this war and we will be together as I promised you earlier . " Tavington explained to her , trying to comfort her as he stroked her hair at the side of her head .

" What if you don't make it , how are you suppose to find me , then what if you cant find me then what . Every thing we had ever had is lost ?" Jessica asked as she choked through her tears and bit her lip still trying to hold back all of her tears .

" I-i don't know what to say to you " William said quietly looking deep into her eyes .

" I should go , It will be dawn soon and my father and brother will be wondering where I am . It was foolish of me to come here , goodbye William " Jessica said quietly before she removed Tavington's hand from her face and turned to leave . William just watched as she turned from him and quickly left the tent quietly making her way back to her horse . Tavington just stood in silence before he laid back down on his bedroll . He knew he would have to do some explaining the next day , there was no way Wilkins was going to keep quiet . Tavington laid on his bedroll and pulled his blanket over top of him , stuck with the many thoughts of that night and the future of the next day .


	26. Preparing for Cowpens

**AN :Hello every one , its been way to long ! . Three months later and chapter 26 is finally up . its been very hard for me to write this chapter , there was originally going to be more to this chapter ( the battle of cowpens scene ) but I am very nervous writing the battle scene . These are my last few chapters and I want them to be very good ! . So I decided to shorten this chapter ( or split them up ) because it has been a really long time since I have updated a chapter so ... here you go chapter 26 finally , it had taken me almost a month to write it ! so ENJOY ! and please review I love getting your opinions and thoughts on the story ! They make my day ! : ) **

The early morning sun slowly rose , the rays of the sun dimly covered the quiet South Carolina Fields . Another battle would take place that day upon those very same fields , the battle of Cowpens . A tremendous battle that would soon alter the course of the war .

Colonel Tavington was already up , and dressed . He paced around his tent nervously and impatiently . He was well aware The battle of Cowpens would take place today , but he was not sure if he was ready for the battle ahead of him . He felt his pride diminish , there hadn't been any other battle he had been apart of that he feared , or hesitated to be apart of . He hadn't earned his nickname" The Butcher " for being intimidated by war . Tavington always felt so undaunted , composed , and confident before a battle , he almost felt untouchable. Americans always retreated when they would spot their Calvary charge hard into battle , Tavington was feared by others , it had almost made him feel superior . Perhaps that was why he felt so eager to kill , seeing the fear in peoples eyes , and their cries of mercy . Made him feel superior , he was in control , Tavington had even once enjoyed seeing fear in Jessica's eyes . Tavington knew that's why he was so hesitant to go to battle , it was because of Jessica . Before Tavington had entered Jessica's life , he only worried about himself . And the only things he desired were good fortune and honour . But now he desired much more. Tavington now was aware that he had gotten much more then he had bargained for when he captured Jessica . He could no longer just worry about himself , he was worried about the young women he had fallen in-love with . Tavington knew he had to keep his promise to Jessica and survive through this war , this is why he felt so hesitant , and apprehensive .

Tavington decided it was best if he would stop pacing , it was only making his more fearful of what was ahead . Taking a hairbrush that laid not to far from him , he then began to brush his loose brown locks . Untangling his hair , Tavington then began to braid his hair .

He then stopped braiding his hair to hear the sound of someone fastly approaching his tent .

" Colonel Tavington , may I enter " Tavington heard the familiar voice of Cornwallis ask .

" Yes , of course my Lord " Tavington responded , straightening up his jacket and pushing any loose hairs that fell in-front of his face , back and out of the way . Standing up straight and confident , Tavington watched as Cornwallis entered the tent .

" Colonel , could you answer for me as to why Captain Wilkins had approached me this morning and had described to me that a certain young lady was here late last night ? " Cornwallis said , placing his hands behind his back and stared at Colonel Tavington Blankly . Colonel Tavington snapped his full attention to Cornwallis when he had mentioned a women had been among them . And he had known exactly what women Cornwallis had spoke of , Tavington new Wilkins would never keep his mouth shut . After what had happened the other night.

" A Women , here , my Lord I have heard no such thing about a young lady wandering around our camp . I am only aware of this issue now . " Tavington said playing dumb . But from the expression on Cornwallis's face , Tavington knew Cornwallis was had not believed him .

" Perhaps you have seen this women before , or are aware of her existence Colonel ... Long Brown hair , porcelain skin , blue eyes . The description of this women seems oddly familiar Colonel ."

" My lord , what are you implying " Colonel Tavington snapped , knowing Cornwallis was referring to the women as Jessica .

" You know full well what I am implying to you , Miss Martin was here last night . Wilkins mentioned to me that he had found her heading towards your tent , and not only that but he had been attack . He figures that it had been you last night who had attacked him , after he had gotten rid of Miss Martin . Wilkins tells me you have developed some sort of feeling towards Miss Martin ... Colonel I asked you on the night that you captured Jessica , to yes indeed do what you could to find out about Benjamin Martins whereabouts . Even if you used your certain brutality to find out ." Cornwallis paused , and Tavington interrupted .

" Is that what Captain Wilkins had claimed to have happen last night ? . I can assure you my Lord that I did not attack the captain last night !, and yes ... Miss Martin may have found my tent last night and we had spoke to one another . Wilkins did not turn her away , he did not force her back to the American camp . Captain Wilkins beat her ! maybe even tried to take advantage of her ! . Miss Martin showed me nail marks and dried blood on her arm . You talk about honour , but there was no honour in what Captain Wilkins had done !" Tavington stated furiously , Tavington knew he could admit he had done things in the past that were not honourable .

"Are these the men who are fighting for me ... for the cause ! , I ask for gentlemen , and this is what I get in return ?. No matter ... I shall deal with Captain Wilkins later . But as for you , You were given simple instructions to interigate this women , find out all you could . But once again you have failed to find out certain information , and you have failed to deliver me ' The Ghost ' . Falling in love , was not an instruction I had given you , and not an option ... Colonel Tavington starting today I want you to start doing the things you are ordered to do . I stand on the eve of the greatest victory of my Career , don't fail me any-more Colonel . Or you may abandon all hope of Ohio . " Cornwallis said sternly , Tavington then began to worry . If there was no Ohio , Tavington did not know where he would possibly go to after the war . He knew he could never go back to England with honour.

" I'm very serious about this Colonel , if you do not follow my orders I give to you . There will be no Ohio and you will loose your position ." And with that , Tavington just slightly nodded , and Cornwallis left Tavington's tent . Tavington stood in anger , and worry . Proceeding to get ready for the eventful day ahead of him , Tavington began to braid the rest of his hair . Fumbling with the stands of hair in anger , and finally taking a long black ribbon to finish queueing his hair . He was fully ready and dressed , in an hour , Tavington would be in battle .

* * *

Jessica laid still , and curled up on her bedroll . She quietly sobbed to herself , she let her tears fall down her face and soak the pillow below her head . She made sure to stay quiet , she didn't want her father , brother or anyone else for that matter to hear , or see her cry . She didn't want Gabriel or her father to worry about her . She tried so hard to keep her spirits up and not get discouraged , William , her father and Gabriel would make it out of this battle today , alive . She positively thought to herself , but it wasn't enough to stop the tears that were still streaming down her wet face .

Jessica could hear the sound of many men outside . She had been up before anyone else , and as time went on that morning . More men had awoke from their sleep , and had gathered outside . She was sure that everyone was awake now , and that meant everyone would be leaving for battle soon . Jessica decided that maybe she should get up from her bedroll and join everyone else outside . She needed to be sure to see and speak with her brother and father before they left . Rising from her bedroll , and wiping her wet tear stained face , Jessica left her tent and walked outside . Jessica stopped to look around , men sat down together eating their breakfast around a small fire , others gathered around talking or prepared their weapons . Looking around for a few moments , she did not see Gabriel or her father anywhere . Jessica decided to wander around that camp for a while , in search for her brother and father .

"...Others doubt our Militia , they doubt what were capable of . But we got Benjamin Martin , the ' hero of fort wilderness '. He slaughtered the French , he can sure as hell kill the British." A militia man said talking to five other men . Jessica listened into their conversation intently as she slowly walked towards them . But then stopped not to far of from the men and looked around . trying to not make herself obvious , that she was eavesdropping on their conversation . Jessica noticed that the men had mention what her father had done at Fort Wilderness . She was aware of her fathers title ' The hero of Fort Wilderness ' , but she never knew what he had done at Fort Wilderness . Her father would never tell her or any one else in their family what had happened . She wasn't even sure if he had ever told their mother .

" I'm not worried about Cowpens , we've made it this long . " The One Militia man stated .

" Yes, that's true . But I'll admit , the Dragoons are my main concern . We've all seen what they have done to our men , the Dragoons are responsible for many of our casualties " Another man had added .

" Its because of Colonel Tavington , ' The Butcher ' if he wasn't the leader of the Dragoons . They wouldn't be as brutal . He gives the commands , he decides who is killed and who isn't . "

" He's the one who killed Martins child "

" Yes , and don't forget , he was the one who captured his oldest daughter . I can't even imagine what that cold hearted Bastard probably had done to Benjamin's daughter ." The man paused for a moment , to see that Jessica was standing not to far from them . He then brought his voice into almost a whisper , but it was not quiet enough for Jessica not to hear him .

"... Raped her , beat her , she's most likely not the first girl he's had his way with . Benjamin Martin will get revenge though , maybe today he will finally kill that Bastard . Then we'll have on less thing to worry about ." A militia man finished , All the other five men nodded their heads in agreement . Jessica hung her head , and turned around to walk the other way .

She wanted to say what was on her mind to the Militia men , she wanted to tell them that William Tavington did no such things to her . He was kind to her , and treated her with respect . Jessica knew he would never do something to harm her now . He loved her , and she loved him . But of course the Militia men did not know the relationship between them , so they would not understand . But she was sure even if they were aware of the relationship ... They still would never understand why she loved him , to them Colonel Tavington was cold hearted . And cruel .

Gabriel appeared not to far away from Jessica , he joined a few men around a small fire . Gabriel started picking away at the rabbit meat that was between his fingers . Tearing the cooked meat into smaller pieces he then began to eat his breakfast . Jessica herself had not eaten since the other night , she knew she should eat . But her mood had lessened her appetite . As Jessica walked closer to Gabriel , Gabriel noticed Jessica nearing him . And decided to get up from where he was seated and walk over to her .

The first thing Jessica had noticed was the expression on Gabriel's face , a slight frown formed his lips . He was still torn apart by the death of his wife Anne Howard . Jessica knew that's what was saddening him . As soon as Gabriel reached Jessica , Jessica took Gabriel into a long warm embrace . She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into her brothers shoulder as he hugged her back .

" I'm so sorry about Anne , Gabriel " Jessica said , her voice muffled from Gabriel shoulder .

" There was nothing you could do to save her and Mr and Mrs Howard . It wasn't your fault , don't blame yourself ." Gabriel replied , stepping back from Jessica , breaking their embrace . Jessica just looked at her brother .

" I know what you must be thinking Gabriel ." Jessica said , knowing that he was the one who blamed Tavington for his wife and his mother and father in law's death . And not to mention the whole town of Pembroke's death.

" I just want to know ... was it Colonel Tavington responsibility for burning the church , was he the one who ordered his men to burn it down . "

" No , Gabriel it wasn't him . It was someone else " Jessica quickly answered her brother .

" _Who_ was it " Gabriel said , with a hint of anger in his voice . Jessica could tell Gabriel already wanted revenge .

" Captain Wilkins " Gabriel said nothing back , but just nodded his head .

" I've never got around to asking you , how you have been fairing with all this . I mean you've had a pretty rough time this past month , getting captured by the Dragoons . Dealing with death , Colonel Tavington . You've been through allot lately ."Gabriel said in concern , Jessica just gave Gabriel a slight smile .

" I'm fine , its been pretty eventful for the past few weeks ... but I'm okay " Jessica lied , for the past few weeks she had been stressed , worried , sad . But other times , sometimes happy .

" For someone who has gone through as much as you have , I wouldn't think you would say you're okay Jessica . "

" Gabriel , today is terrifying me . I'm scared to death , the thought of not knowing if you or father will make it through this battle is killing me . How many more have to die . " Jessica's voice quivered with each word she said . She could feel her vision being blurred by the tears that were forming in her eye's .

" And Colonel Tavington ?" Gabriel asked Jessica , knowing she was worried for him just as much as she was worried for her father and brother . Jessica looked at her brother as tears began to fall down her face , she sniffled before she began to speak .

" Please Gabriel , promise me if Colonel Tavington is to die today ... don't let it be by yours or fathers hand " Jessica practically begged her brother . Gabriel just looked at her with little emotion on his face . He knew he would not be able to hold his father back from killing Tavington .

" Jessica... I cant guarantee that , nor can I stop fathers vengeance " Gabriel replied , Jessica broke down from Gabriel's words . Jessica embraced Gabriel ,and held onto him tightly as she began to cry even harder . Jessica was so scared , she didn't want to loose the ones she loved .

" Please Gabriel , please don't die or father . Please , don't kill William . I cant bare the thought of anyone else dying !" Jessica sobbed into Gabriel's shoulder , as Gabriel held her close to him . He then began to stroke the back of her head , shushing her and trying to calm his sister down . Benjamin Martin must have seen what was going on , because he to was rushing over to Jessica . As Gabriel handed off Jessica to her father , Jessica held on to Benjamin as if she was clinging on to him for dear life. Jessica was used to her father and Gabriel going to battle , when she was back at her aunt Charlotte's she did worry about her brother and father. But now that she had to witness her loved ones go into battle . Her father , her Brother . And the man she had fallen in love with .

* * *

Almost an hour later , it was finally time for the Battle of Cowpens to shortly begin . Jessica had finally settled , and was now standing in-front of her brother and father . All three of them stood together , as the rest of the militia stood behind them . Waiting for Benjamin Martin and Gabriel to join them , after they had said their ' goodbye's ' to Jessica .

" I'll pray for you , both of you " Jessica said , to both her brother and father . Jessica knew she would also be praying for one more person , and that would be William Tavington . Benjamin Martin and Gabriel both nodded . Then her father took a few steps towards her and took her into a large embrace .

" I love you so much , you've become such a beautiful women . Your mother would be so proud of you Jessica ... you know you and you brothers and sisters make me very happy " Benjamin's voice quivered with sadness , as he whispered in his daughters ear . Jessica held herself back from crying .

" I love you to Father " Jessica said back to him , breaking the embrace Gabriel then stepped in and gave her to a hug . Jessica hugged him back tightly .

" I love you Jessica " Gabriel said , Jessica just smiled . Jessica loved hearing her brother telling her that he loved her . He would never say he loved her as much as her father , or even her mother would . But when Gabriel did , she new he meant it with all his heart .

" I love you too Gabriel , what ever happens today . I will continue to always love you and Father forever ." Jessica replied , then stepping back from Gabriel , she gave both her brother and father a smile . She knew she now had to let them go , they had to take part in this battle . All she could do was , pray and hope for all three of her loved ones to return to her , alive .

Before Benjamin and Gabriel left , Benjamin Martin remembered what he needed to give to Jessica before they were to leave . Jessica watched as her father took out a folded up letter , that had looked like it had been in his jacket pocket for a while . Judging on the many wrinkles the paper had . Jessica extended her had to take the letter from her father that he held out in-front of her to take . Jessica took the letter and held it in her hands , she examined the piece of paper , until her father spoke .

" Jessica , would you give that to your brothers , sisters and your aunt Charlotte if I do not return today . If who ever returns to you , whether it be me your brother or God willing , both of us . You will be taken back to Gullah island , to stay in the care of your Aunt . " Her father said , Jessica just nodded her head understanding what she needed to do of her father did not come back alive .

" Yes father " And with that , Benjamin gave his daughter one last hug and kissed her on the cheek . He turned to leave and join Gabriel and the others . As her father mounted his horse , and the militia had gotten into formation , for battle . Gabriel and Benjamin nodded their heads to Jessica and gave her a smile , before they turned there horses . And joined along side Colonel Burwell and Major Jean Villeneuve , heading into the battle that lay ahead of them . And leaving Jessica behind , standing with only her father's letter in hand .


End file.
